Abstract
This paper reports the results of an original contingent valuation survey in the Czech Republic where residents of three cities (Prague, Brno, and Ostrava) were asked to report information about their Willingness to Pay (WTP) for reductions in their own risk of dying for cardiovascular and respiratory causes. By focusing on these causes of death, we obtain WTP figures that are immediately applicable to the climate change and environmental policy contexts.
The VSL is then obtained by dividing WTP by the risk reduction being valued. Using the survey data, we estimate mean VSL to be 40.16 million CZK (EUR 1.27 million at the current exchange rate, EUR 2.86 million at the Purchasing Power Parity.
The VSL is lower for older people, but not for individuals with chronic cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses.