The "Cost" of a life
The discussion in the transfer payments thread got me to thinking about something else.
The allocation of resources from west to east make no sense from an economist perspective ... and speaking of an economist perspective I've always wondered if an economist had ever calculated the cost of a human life.
People say human life is priceless, but daily decisions by every person prove that not to be true. Economics is interesting to me because it gives a very unique way to observe human behavior and decision making ... and extrapolates interesting meaning.
IE I went to the flames game tonight ... I didn't have to, but I wanted to.
I understood full well that I had to drive to the game, and there was a small risk that through the transport I could have been injured or killed. I just prooved that my life isn't priceless. I took a small gamble so I could enjoy myself tonight.
I had a friend of mine die when I was in Gr 8 in a skiing accident, but that didn't stop me from skiing in the future. People do dangerous jobs for larger pay etc etc.
Since it is not priceless, it must have a price. I wonder if someone has ever done a study to try and caluclate the price people put on human lives simply by observing their behavior.
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