Compensating Wage Differentials for Fatal and Nonfatal Injury Risk by Gender and Race

Abstract

Our research examines risk compensation by gender and race using occupation, gender, and race specific fatal and nonfatal injury rates and a data set sufficiently large to produce accurate estimates across fairly narrow groups. The data provide strong evidence that men earn compensating differentials for both fatal and nonfatal injury risk and women earn compensating differentials for nonfatal injury risk. Female wage premiums for nonfatal injury risk exceed male wage premiums by a factor of more than three. Nonfatal injury risk compensation is widespread among the various demographic groups although largest for white women. Fatal injury risk compensation is more isolated with only white and Hispanic males earning significantly higher pay for greater amounts of fatal injury risk.