TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ludwig,Jens
AU  - Cook,Philip J.
TI  - The Benefits of Reducing Gun Violence:  Evidence from Contingent-Valuation Survey Data
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 7166
PY  - 1999
Y2  - June 1999
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w7166
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w7166.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Jens Ludwig
University of Chicago
1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 773/834-0811
Fax: 773/834-1582
E-Mail: jludwig@uchicago.edu

Philip J. Cook
Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University
215 Sanford Building
Durham, NC 27708-0245
Tel: 919 613 7360
Fax:  919/681-8288
E-Mail: pcook@duke.edu
AB  - This paper presents the first attempt to estimate the benefits of reducing crime using the contingent-valuation (CV) method.  We focus on gun violence, a crime of growing policy concern in America.  Our data come from a national survey in which we ask respondents referendum-type questions that elicit their willingness-to-pay (WTP) to reduce gun violence by 30 percent. We estimate that the public's WTP to reduce gun violence by 30 percent equals $23.8 billion, or $750,000 per injury.  Our estimate implies a statistical value of life ($4.05 to $6.25 million) that is quite consistent with those derived from other methods.
ER  -