BAD DEATHS

Evidence is presented to show that people are willing to pay a premium to avoid ''bad deatns''-deaths that are especially dreaded uncontroll able, involuntarily incurred, and inequitably distributed. Public judg ments of this kind help explain the demand for regulation. But some of these judgments do not justify current policies, because they stem fr om selective attention and confusion. Few causes of death are entirely uncontrollable or faced wholly involuntarily; the issue is nor whethe r they can be controlled bur at what cost. But three kinds of ''bad de aths'' deserve special attention: those imposing high externalities, t hose preceded by unusual pain and suffering, and those producing distr ibutional inequity.