#991: Lives Vs. The Economy

4/15/2020 by NPR

Episode: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510289/edge1.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/npr/pmoney/2020/04/20200415_pmoney_pmpod991-9b8e3d51-eb7c-4c2c-bc77-18bb2780fdc5.mp3?awCollectionId=510289&awEpisodeId=835571843&aw_0_1st.cv=yes&orgId=1&topicId=1017&aggIds=812054919&d=1524&p=510289&story=835571843&t=podcast&e=835571843&size=24339330&ft=pod&f=510289

Is it worth it to shut down the economy to save lives? How do you know when to reopen it? Should we let people die to save the economy? Economists say each human life is worth about $10 million dollars. How did they get that number?

I think the traditional Cost of Death analysis makes more sense than Kipp’s formula which in many ways exaggerates the value of life especially for the elderly. It might not be the politically correct thing to say but I think it’s the one most supported by reality and the numbers.