MEASUREMENT OF PARAMETERS TO VALUE HUMAN LIFE EXTENSION

Philip Thomas, Roger Jones, James Kearns

Abstract

In safety analysis as in engineering, the development of a satisfactory mathematical model is required to identify the parameters that need to be measured and calculated. The establishment of a proper calculus of safety begins with the recognition that the fundamental concept is life expectancy, and then, by extension, the increase in life expectancy that a safety measure brings about. <i>J</i>-value analysis, which rests on this concept, is a method of estimating how much should be spent on a new safety system to improve health and/or safety, with the amount depending on both actuarial and economic data. Measurements made to quantify the first <i>J</i>-value trade-off between the average person's free-time fraction and his income result in an inferential estimate of the elasticity of marginal utility. This is an important economic parameter in its own right, and moreover feeds into a second trade-off between life expectancy and income, which <i>J</i>-value analysis shows to be the balance that must be struck in evaluating a new safety scheme.

Keywords

<i>J</i>-value, calculus of safety, elasticity of marginal utility

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IMEKO-WC-2009-TC7-178.pdf

DOI

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IMEKO TC

TC7 - Measurement Science

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