Empirical research has consistently shown that married men have substantially higher wages, on average, than otherwise similar unmarried men. One commonly cited hypothesis to explain this pattern is that marriage allows one spouse to specialize in market production and the other to specialize in...

This article estimates the mortality cost of smoking using the first labor market estimates of the value of statistical life by smoking status. The value of statistical life is $7 million for both smokers and nonsmokers. Using this value in conjunction with the increase in the mortality risk...

We use the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates to provide the first estimates of the effect on earnings of having a double major. Overall, double majoring increases earnings by 2.3% relative to having a single major among college graduates without graduate degrees. Most of the gains from...

This article estimates the mortality cost of smoking based on the first labor market estimates of the value of statistical life by smoking status. Using these values in conjunction with the increase in the mortality risk over the life cycle due to smoking, the value of statistical life by age...

This article examines age variations in support for environmental protection policies that affect climate change using a sample of over 14,000 respondents to a 1999 Eurobarometer survey. There is a steady decline with age in whether respondents are willing to incur higher gasoline prices to...

Using an original data set that allowed us to measure the job risk perceived by individuals as well as smoking and seatbelt use, we found that cigarette smokers and nonseatbelt wearers receive a lower compensating differential for risk than nonsmokers and seatbelt wearers. While workers on...

Based on a sample of 260 cases reported in the Wall Street Journal between 1964 and 1986, this study finds that the equity value of firms charged with violating equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws fell at the time that a suit, decision, or settlement was announced. Most dramatically, the...