Saving Lives in the Present Versus Saving Lives in the Future—Is There a Framing Effect?

To estimate the discount rate for lives saved in the future a number of studies have been carried out on the trade-off between saving lives now and in the future. A telephone survey is administered to about 1,700 individuals to test if the framing of the question affects the estimated trade-off. In one sample the question is framed as saving 100 lives today versus saving x future lives and in one sample the question is framed as saving 100 future lives versus saving y lives today. The result shows that the framing has a major impact on the trade-off.