The Opportunity Cost of COVID-19 Deaths in the USA

Abstract

The U.S. is currently the country with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths. By the second week of October 2021, over 700,000 people in the U.S. had died after contracting the virus. When estimating the cost and benefit of a COVID-19 prevention measure, the value of a statistical life (VSL) has been widely used as an approximation for the value of a lost life. However, VSL arguably overstates the costs of deaths caused by COVID-19 because VSL captures the private individual’s benefit, and it is the same for everyone regardless of where they live, their productivity, their age, and their gender. In this study, rather than looking at the cost of life loss due to COVID-19, we focus on the opportunity costs of COVID-19 deaths to society. The opportunity cost of COVID-19 deaths is defined as the combination of direct medical costs and the costs of lost potential lifetime earnings. Our analysis focuses on the period from March 2020 to October 2021. We then quantify the average opportunity cost of COVID-19 deaths across the U.S. and by state level.