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Death, happiness and the calculation of compensatory damages
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Oswald, Andrew J. and Powdthavee, Nattavudh (2007) Death, happiness and the calculation of compensatory damages. Working Paper. Coventry: University of Warwick, Department of Economics. Warwick economic research papers (No.827).
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Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
Abstract
This paper studies the mental distress caused by bereavement. The largest emotional losses are from the death of a spouse; the second-worst in severity are the losses from the death of a child; the third-worst is the death of a parent. The paper explores how happiness regression equations might be used in tort cases to calculate compensatory damages for emotional harm and pain-and-suffering. We examine alternative well-being variables, discuss adaptation, consider the possibility that bereavement affects someone’s marginal utility of income, and suggest a procedure for correcting for the endogeneity of income. Although the paper’s contribution is methodological, and further research is needed, some illustrative compensation amounts are discussed.
| Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory | ||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Bereavement -- Psychological aspects, Happiness, Regression analysis -- Mathematical models, Reparation (Criminal justice), Marginal utility | ||||
| Series Name: | Warwick economic research papers | ||||
| Publisher: | University of Warwick, Department of Economics | ||||
| Place of Publication: | Coventry | ||||
| Official Date: | 31 October 2007 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Number: | No.827 | ||||
| Number of Pages: | 44 | ||||
| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
| Funder: | Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) | ||||
| Version or Related Resource: | Oswald, A.J., and Powdthavee, N. (2008). Death, Happiness, and the Calculation of Compensatory Damages. The Journal of Legal Studies, 37(2), pp. S217-S251. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/28759 | ||||
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