Castro and Economic Man, or What Is a Prisoner Worth?

In the October, 1961, issue of this Journal, my article on "The Valuation of Human Capital" presented estimates of the capitalized values of "expected" lifetime earnings for males at various ages. At a 4 per cent rate of discount, the gross value (without deduction for consumption) of a male, age twenty to twenty-four, was $55,950. Thus, the gross value of 1,113 such men would be $62,272,350, or, rounded off, $62 million. The 1,113 is the number of Cuban prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion, and $62 million is the ransom demanded for many weeks by Fidel Castro!