Thanks for the comment, David! I agree all those effects could be relevant. Accordingly, I assume that saving a life in catastrophes (periods over which there is a large reduction in population) is more valuable than saving a life in normal times (periods over which there is a minor increase in population). However, it looks like the probability of large population losses is sufficiently low to offset this, such that saving lives in normal time is more valuable in expectation.
Thanks for the comment, David! I agree all those effects could be relevant. Accordingly, I assume that saving a life in catastrophes (periods over which there is a large reduction in population) is more valuable than saving a life in normal times (periods over which there is a minor increase in population). However, it looks like the probability of large population losses is sufficiently low to offset this, such that saving lives in normal time is more valuable in expectation.