A prominent theoretical controversy in the compensating differentials literature concerns unobservable individual productivity. Competing models yield opposite predictions depending on whether the unobservable productivity is safety-related skill or productivity generally. Using five panel waves...

A fundamental property of a progressive income tax is that it provides implicit insurance against shocks to income by dampening the variability of disposable income and consumption. The Economic Recovery Act of 1981 (ERTA) and the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) greatly reduced the number of...

Using recently assembled data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) we shed new light on the regulatory approach to workplace safety. Because all underground coal mines are inspected quarterly, MSHA regulations will not be ineffective because of infrequent inspections. From over...

Analysis of the average workweek of workers in the United States from 1900 to 1940. Discussion of the shortcomings of the traditional labor market model; Empirical results of the study. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)

Our research examines the effect of interdependence on estimation and interpretation of earnings/labor supply equations. We consider the cases of (1) a positive spillover from others' labor supplied and (2) a need for conformity with others' labor supplied. Qualitative and quantitative...

Census data from 1960 and 1970, augmented with schooling data (expenditures per pupil as well as other measures of school quality) from the various Biennial Surveys of Education, are utilized to analyze the impact of school quality on earnings and to ...

We examine differences in the value of statistical life (VSL) across potential wage levels in panel data using quantile regressions with intercept heterogeneity. Latent heterogeneity is econometrically important and affects the estimated VSL. Our findings indicate that a reasonable average cost...