Estimation of Value of Life for Turkiye With a Model Approach Depending on Net Present Value

OBJECTIVES: The value of life is a marginal benefit of preventing death within a certain period of life. The Theory of Human Capital (HCT) is based on investments in human health which can reduce morbidity and mortality, as well as which improve the macro and microeconomic outcomes of societies. The purpose of this analysis is to carry out a model for estimating the value of life for Turkiye depending on HCT.

METHODS: Net present value (NPV) of the taxes and expenditure of governments were calculated depending on population demographics and economics data as population distribution by age, employment compliance according to age, age of school enrollment, education years, year of retirement, unemployment rate, annual wage entry, healthcare expenditure, education expenditure, etc. The estimated produced economic value for the lifetime period for Turkiye was assumed as the value of life. In addition, each decade’s NPV was calculated. The economic data for the model was taken from TURKSTAT, World Bank, UNESCO, OECD and WHO.

RESULTS: Estimated produced economic value for lifetime for Turkiye was found to be PPP$ 753.319 which was 21.15 times of GDP PPP per capita. Estimated produced economic value for Turkiye were calculated for each decade as PPP$ -10.334, PPP$ 15.316, PPP$ 190.471, PPP$ 421.560, PPP$ 631.742, PPP$ 747.050, PPP$ 768.826, PPP$ 758.917, PPP$ 753.519, PPP$ 753.319 for the 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8., 9 and 10^th decades, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Value of life is estimated by a hypothetical model based on NPV with taxes and expenditure of government for each individual for a lifeterm. Model approaches included value of life for each decade of age, which can guide for marginal benefit of preventing premature deaths. This may be a guide for health policy authorities to prioritize the treatment options for different decades.