Quality of life and the WTP for an increased life expectancy at an advanced age

In this study we report an attempt to measure the value adult Swedes impute to an increased survival probability at high ages. A rating scale between the worst possible quality of life (=1) and the best possible quality of life (=10) is used to indicate the quality of life a person expects to achieve at an advanced age. We find a highly significant correlation between this quality measure and the insurance premium a person is willing to pay in exchange for a programme increasing the expected length of life by one year, conditional on having survived until the age of 75 years. The (maximum) insurance premium the average person is willing to pay for such a programme is less than $1500. The willingness to pay increase with a person's age, but at a low rate. The implied average marginal rate of time preference is about 1 percent. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.