VALUING REDUCED RISKS TO CHILDREN: THE CASE OF BICYCLE SAFETY HELMETS

The protection of children's health has recently become a mandated priority for federal policy makers. To assess many of the regulations that affect children's health, policy makers need estimates of the monetary value of reducing mortality risks to children. Although the economics literature has provided many estimates of the value of statistical life (VSL) for adult populations, it has provided none for school age children. This article studies the market for bicycle safety helmets and estimates for the first time a separate but comparable VSL for children and adults. We derive three estimates of VSL for each of three age categories (5 to 9, 10 to 14, and 20 to 59) that range from $1.1 to $4.0 million. In all cases, estimates for adults are highest, followed by estimates for the youngest children.     

National grain policies: The international dimension

Government intervention in the pricing and marketing of grains has led to increased use of restrictive trade practices to preserve domestic price levels and ensure orderly marketing of domestically produced and imported grain. The author examines this relationship between domestic agricultural and trade policies of a selected group of grain importing and exporting countries. The article suggests that, because of the strong link between domestic and trade policies, it will be difficult to reduce trade restrictions in international grain markets in future trade negotiations.     

What do we know about racial discrimination in mortgage markets?

The article summarizes evidence regarding racially discriminatory acts in the mortgage lending market. Various information sources are considered: paired-testing studies, statistical studies of lending patterns and loan rejections, administrative histories, legal suits, case studies, and mortgage underwriting standards. The review demonstrates that, although there remain many unanswered questions about the scope and nature of racial discrimination in mortgage lending, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the problem still exists.