Isn’t that exactly what we’d expect when there is the marginal utility of consumption is diminishing? An additional pound in a developing country is probably more likely to be purchasing something more important to a person’s welfare than someone in a developed country e.g., food or basic shelter vs video games. Furthermore, some of these essentials could themselves be life extending, which would bias the estimates. Finally, it’s possible that life in poverty is bad enough that individuals are willing to forego less to extend it (I put the least weight on this explanation, but it is plausible).
In each of these cases, this GDP-adjusted value of a statistical life discrepancy would be completely rational and the underlying poverty driving the differences would be what needs addressing.
Isn’t that exactly what we’d expect when there is the marginal utility of consumption is diminishing? An additional pound in a developing country is probably more likely to be purchasing something more important to a person’s welfare than someone in a developed country e.g., food or basic shelter vs video games. Furthermore, some of these essentials could themselves be life extending, which would bias the estimates. Finally, it’s possible that life in poverty is bad enough that individuals are willing to forego less to extend it (I put the least weight on this explanation, but it is plausible).
In each of these cases, this GDP-adjusted value of a statistical life discrepancy would be completely rational and the underlying poverty driving the differences would be what needs addressing.