Working paper

Evaluating Willingness to Pay as a Measure of the Impact of Dyslexia in Adults

Daniel Herrera-Araujo, Bennett Shaywitz, John Holahan, Karen Marchione, Reissa Michaels, Sally Shaywitz, and James K. Hammitt

Abstract

While much is known about dyslexia in school-age children and adolescents, less is known about its effects on quality of life in adults. Using data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study we provide the first estimates of the monetary value of improving reading, speaking, and cognitive skills to dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults. Using a stated-preference survey, we find that dyslexic and non-dyslexic individuals value improvements in their skills in reading speed, reading aloud, pronunciation, memory, and information retrieval at about the same rate. Because dyslexics have lower self-reported levels on these skills, their total willingness to pay to achieve a high level of skill is substantially greater than for non-dyslexics. However, dyslexic individuals’ willingness to pay (averaging $3000 for an improvement in all skills simultaneously) is small compared with the difference in earnings between dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults. We estimate that dyslexic individuals earn 15 percent less per year (about $8000) than non-dyslexic individuals. Although improvements in reading, speaking and cognitive skills in adulthood are unlikely to eliminate the earnings difference that reflects differences in educational attainment and other factors, stated-preference estimates of the value of cognitive skills may substantially underestimate the value derived from effects on lifetime earnings and health.

Keywords

Dyslexia; contingent valuation; willingness to pay; reading;

JEL codes

  • D03: Behavioral Microeconomics • Underlying Principles
  • D12: Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • L13: Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
  • L22: Firm Organization and Market Structure
  • L81: Retail and Wholesale Trade • e-Commerce

Replaced by

Daniel Herrera-Araujo, Bennett Shaywitz, John Holahan, Karen Marchione, Reissa Michaels, Sally Shaywitz, and James K. Hammitt, “Evaluating Willingness to Pay as a Measure of the Impact of Dyslexia in Adults”, Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, vol. 8, n. 1, 2017, pp. 24–48.

Reference

Daniel Herrera-Araujo, Bennett Shaywitz, John Holahan, Karen Marchione, Reissa Michaels, Sally Shaywitz, and James K. Hammitt, “Evaluating Willingness to Pay as a Measure of the Impact of Dyslexia in Adults”, TSE Working Paper, n. 17-761, January 2017.

See also

Published in

TSE Working Paper, n. 17-761, January 2017