The analytical framework first developed by Thaler & Rosen (1973) is used to estimate the premium for job-related risk from a wage equation for workers in the Taiwan area. From this risk-wage relationship, the statistical value of life can be derived. 4628 individual observations for full time workers from the 1984 Labor Force Survey are used in this study. The death rate statistics for two digit industries (57 industries in all) are obtained from the Bureau of Labor Insurance. The OLS method is used to estimate the wage equation for three functional forms and two samples (full and sub sample). Age, sex, education, marriage status, hours of work, working experience, employment status are also included as explanatory variables. Models including dummy variables for occupations or for industries are also tested. The estimated value of life for the sample mean is found to range from NT$ 12 million to 34 million. In the meantime, the study shows that people aged between 31 and 50 have the highest value of life, and the value of life increases with the wage rate.
