Saving Lives: A Review of the Record

Anti-depressants, suicide, and drug regulation

“…It is important to note that this calculation ignores other possible benefits from expansions in SSRI use, such as those from a reduction in nonfatal suicide attempts. In any case, by way of comparison a review of regulatory interventions designed to improve health and well-being finds that fully 54 of the 76 regulations reviewed cost more than $1 million per statistical life saved (Morrall, 2003).…”

How Well Does the U.S. Government Do Benefit-Cost Analysis?

“…According to government estimates, the costs associated with such regulations are substantial-on the order of $200 billion (in 1996 dollars) annually (OMB 2001). The benefits, which are harder to pin down, may be even larger, although the net benefits (or costs) of individual regulations can vary significantly (OMB, 2001;Hahn, 2000;Freeman, 2002;Morrall, 2003). Thus, making even relatively modest changes in the regulatory apparatus could have significant implications for the public's health and welfare.…”

Rates of Time Preferences for Saving Lives in the Hazardous Waste Site Context

“…The cost per life saved by these remedies would be €0.744 million and €0.367 million, respectively. Clearly, the cap is more cost-effective than the soil excavation option, but in both cases the cost per life saved is modest when compared to that of many regulatory programs (see, for example, Morrall, 2003).…”

“…4 Failure to discount future risk reductions and the choice of the discount rate when discounting is done at all have resulted in confusion and conflicting claims about the cost-effectiveness of government regulatory programs (Morrall, 2003).…”