The value of mortality risk reductions in the Tunisian building and manufacturing industries

Government intervention must be taken in the building industry in order to improve occupational safety and health in Tunisia. The objective of this research is to measure the value of mortality risk reductions for fatal injury in the Tunisian building and manufacturing industries. We use a random sample of 7978 employees working in the private sector for the year 2002. These data are taken from the Caisse nationale de la sécurité sociale. The results show a positive and significant fatal risk premium in the building and the manufacturing industries. The implied value of mortality risk is higher for the building industry (689,280.5 dinars) than the manufacturing industry (448,663.32 dinars). Compared to similar countries, the value of mortality risk estimates is relatively small. This result can provide useful information for policymakers about the type of industry (building industry) in which intervention must be taken in order to improve occupational safety and health in Tunisia.