Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Purse, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Related Collections
Right arrow C20 - General
Right arrow J28 - Safety; Accidents; Industrial Health; [...]
Right arrow J31 - Wage Level and Structure; [...]
Right arrow J51 - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Cambridge Journal of Economics 28:597-617 (2004)
Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 28, No. 4, © Cambridge Political Economy Society 2004; all rights reserved

Work-related fatality risks and neoclassical compensating wage differentials

Kevin Purse*

Address for correspondence: University of Adelaide, South Australia; email: kpurse{at}ozemail.com.au

Neoclassical theory claims that wage differentials are paid to compensate workers for the risks of work-related injury and death. Empirical support for the claim is based on findings from econometric studies over three decades. This paper reviews the neoclassical case for compensating wage differentials. The focus is on studies which examine the theory as it applies to the risk of traumatic work-related death, since this is where the evidence for the theory is thought to be strongest. Much of the empirical support is found to be flawed. This is due to data limitations, difficulties in constructing the risk variable and, more particularly, problems with omitted variables which result in risk premia being conflated with inter-industry wage differentials. It is concluded that the neoclassical theory underpinning the econometric literature is also deficient and inhibits a realistic understanding of the production and distribution of work-related health and safety risks.

Key Words: Compensating wage differentials • Neoclassical theory • Workers • Fatality risks • Econometric analysis

JEL classifications: C20, J28, J31, J51

Manuscript received March 11, 2002; final version received July 9, 2002.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.