Contingent valuation was used to elicit Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) for a reduction in the risk of dying for cardiovascular and respiratory causes, the most important causes of premature mortality associated with heat wave and air pollution, among the Italian public. The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, to obtain WTP and Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) figures that can be applied when estimating the benefits of heat advisories, other policies that reduce the
mortality effects of extreme heat, and environmental policies that reduce the risk of dying for cardiovascular and respiratory causes. Second, come up with experimental study design that allows to examine the sensitivity of WTP to the size of the risk reduction. Third, to examine whether the WTP of populations that are especially sensitive to extreme heat and air pollution—such as the elderly, those in compromised health, and those living alone and/or physically impaired—is different from that of other individuals. Study found that WTP, and hence the VSL, depends on the risk reduction, respondent age and health status. WTP increases with the size of the risk reduction, but is not strictly proportional to it. All else the same, older individuals are willing to pay less for a given risk reduction than younger individuals of comparable characteristics. Poor health tends to raise WTP, all else the same. Our results support the notion that the VSL is "individuated."

URL: www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/5/37585554.pdf