Browsing by Author "Torche, Aristides"

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    The economic value of reducing mortality rates - The case of Chile
    (FONDO CULTURA ECONOMICA, 2006) Cerda, Rodrigo A.; Torche, Aristides
    Between 1979 and 1999, mortality rates in Chile fell from 6.8 to 5.4 per thousand while infant mortality rates decreased from 75 to 38 per 1000 newborns. This paper presents a methodology to value these reductions on the mortality rates based on a model in which agents choose consumption and leisure, facing survival rates. We calibrate the model to the Chilean economy during the nineties. Our results indicate that changes in the mortality rates between 1980 and 1997 can be valued at 270% of the Chilean GDP in 1998.