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On the Job Health Risks: Workers' Beliefs and Individual Work Experiences

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  • Adriana Barone

    (University of Salerno)

  • Annamaria Nese

    (University of Salerno)

Abstract

An insight into the risks to life or health which workers are exposed to whilst at work is usually provided by risk perceptions by the workers (e.g. Viscusi, 1978; Viscusi-Moore, 1991; Grund, 2000). However, the usefulness of workers’ beliefs is limited when trying to understand the real risks posed by different jobs because this indicator relies upon the individual’s ability to make appropriate assessments (Viscusi, 1978; Elliot-Sandy, 1998). The aim of this paper is to analyse the problem of hazards and risks in the workplace in Italy by comparing workers’ beliefs and objective information at the individual level. The first indicator is drawn from the Bank of Italy 1995 Survey, whereas the second is provided by the Survey of Health, Aging and Wealth. The evidence we provide supports the view that the two indicators are broadly consistent. Further, we use the SHAW to highlight that a positive association between cigarette smoking and injuries at work exists even if we control for job and individual characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Adriana Barone & Annamaria Nese, 2003. "On the Job Health Risks: Workers' Beliefs and Individual Work Experiences," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 62(1), pages 125-144, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gde:journl:gde_v62_n1_p125-144
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elliott, Robert F. & Sandy, Robert, 1998. "Adam Smith may have been right after all: A new approach to the analysis of compensating differentials," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 127-131, April.
    2. Viscusi, W Kip, 1979. "Job Hazards and Worker Quit Rates: An Analysis of Adaptive Worker Behavior," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 20(1), pages 29-58, February.
    3. Viscusi, W Kip, 1993. "The Value of Risks to Life and Health," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 1912-1946, December.
    4. Viscusi, W Kip, 1978. "Wealth Effects and Earnings Premiums for Job Hazards," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(3), pages 408-416, August.
    5. Smith, V Kerry & Johnson, F Reed, 1988. "How Do Risk Perceptions Respond to Information? The Case of Radon," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(1), pages 1-8, February.
    6. Viscusi, W Kip, 1990. "Sources of Inconsistency in Societal Responses to Health Risks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 257-261, May.
    7. Hwang, Hae-shin & Reed, W Robert & Hubbard, Carlton, 1992. "Compensating Wage Differentials and Unobserved Productivity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(4), pages 835-858, August.
    8. Grund, Christian, 2000. "Wages as Risk Compensation in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 221, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Guiso, Luigi & Jappelli, Tullio & Pistaferri, Luigi, 2002. "An Empirical Analysis of Earnings and Employment Risk," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(2), pages 241-253, April.
    10. W. Kip Viscusi & Michael J. Moore, 1991. "Worker Learning and Compensating Differentials," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(1), pages 80-96, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Leoni, 2010. "What drives the perception of health and safety risks in the workplace? Evidence from European labour markets," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 37(2), pages 165-195, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk perception; injuries at work;

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

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