UDC 368.1:330.59 (477)
Shevchuk, O. O. (2014). Metodolohichni pidkhody do otsinyuvannya ekonomichnoho ekvivalentu vartosti zhyttya v Ukrayini [Methodological approaches for assessing the economic equivalent of the human life value in Ukraine]. Rehional'na ekonomika - Regional Economy, 72(2), 74-83. [in Ukrainian].
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Authors

Resume

The absence in Ukraine of the single criteria for evaluation of the compensation of the human life and health costs hinders the further development of the field of social protection, insurance. This makes evaluation of the effectiveness of means directed at risk decrease and improvement of the safety system in industry, transport, communal services impossible. The development of Ukraine as a social democratic state in general is impossible too.

The human life costs in Ukraine are evaluated only in certain cases – by some types of obligatory insurance. Such estimate ranges from 7 to 250 thousand UAH and depends on the circumstances of the human life loss. There is no term “economic equivalent of the life cost” in Ukrainian law as well as the methodology of its evaluation and the state order for its development in the scientific institutions.

The aim of the investigation is the analysis of the methodological approaches to evaluation of the economic equivalent of the human life cost (EEHLC) from the viewpoint of the possibility of their use in Ukrainian conditions and the development of proposals on quantitative range values of this index for Ukraine.

In the performed investigation the methods of financial and actuarial mathematics have been used.

The possible approaches to evaluation of EEHLC that can be used in Ukraine are considered, in particular the assessing by the theory of human capital, “ by losses”, on the basis of the theory of usefulness (proceeding from the average income per person for the period of expected future life time and national average produce per person). It is proposed to use the tools of actuarial mathematics for EEHLC evaluation, in particular the net-tariffs for life insurance. The value of EEHLC for Ukraine is evaluated using the above approaches.

Results allowed us to conclude that in foreign and national literature on economics there is no common formal approach to assessing the human life cost; discussions concerning active search of new, more qualitative approaches to assessing EEHLC are going. Results obtained by different methods can differ significantly (in Ukraine, in particular, from 219 thousand UAH to 2.7 million UAH), since for evaluation different initial data and indices are used.

Taking into consideration the necessity of the balanced social demands of the society and the economic possibility of the state and managing subjects, based on the analysis, the quantitative range of values of the average statistical human life cost is proposed that can be recommended to be used in Ukraine in the present economic situation:

Analysing the calculations related with investment into the safety systems and labor protection, introduction of the preventive measures to decrease the risk; aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the health protection system – it is recommended to use the value of EEHLC within the range from 1 to 2 million UAH.

To evaluate the government or corporative payments for the families of persons who died in the emergency conditions, to establish the insurance costs in the system of personal insurance and liability insurance – it is recommended to use the value of EEHLC in the range from 200 to 500 thousand UHR.

The priority steps on practical introduction of EEHLC in Ukraine are described. It is noted that with the growth of economy, improvement of the people’s life standard, it is worth reviewing periodically the values of EEHLC, what is a necessary condition for the effective action of the economic methods of risk management.

Keywords:

value of life, methodology, the economic equivalent of the cost of life, methods for human life value assessment