Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12814
Authors: Paul Castaneda Dower; Andrei Markevich; Shlomo Weber
Abstract: We examine the value of a statistical life (VSL) in inter-war Soviet Union.Our approach requires to address the preferences of Stalin. We model theseon the basis of the policy of statistical repression, which was an integral partof the Great Terror. We use regional variation in the victims generated bythis policy to structurally estimate the value that Stalin would have beenwilling to accept for a reduction in citizens’ fatality risk. Our estimate ofthis value is $43,151, roughly 6% of the VSL estimate in 1940’s US and 29%of the VSL estimate in modern India.
Keywords: value of a statistical life; autocracy; dictatorship; stalin; great terror
JEL Codes: J17; I30; N44; P51
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stalin's policies of statistical repression (P35) | fatality risk (J17) |
| regional variations in victimization (R20) | value of statistical life in a dictatorship (VSLD) (J17) |
| fatality risk (J17) | economic decisions made under authoritarian regimes (D70) |
| Stalin's policies of statistical repression (P35) | regional variations in victimization (R20) |