Workplace Risks and the Value of Hazard Avoidance.

This study examines the relationship between work-related hazards and individual earnings. Both fatality and injury rates are included in the analysis and the authors examine the role of unions in the wage-risk process. Estimates for the cost of an industrial accident and the "value of life" are also calculated. The results indicate that serious job hazards have significant positive effects on earnings. Union workers receive the same compensation for risk of fatality as nonunion workers.