Worker Sorting and the Risk of Death on the Job

• DOI: 10.1086/423159
• Publication Date: 2004-11-03T14:55:46Z
• Authors: Thomas DeLeire; Helen Levy
• Keywords: SAFER; Proxy (statistics); Quarter (Canadian coin); Risk Aversion

This article examines worker sorting across occupations in response to the risk of death on job. We use family structure as a proxy for willingness trade safety wages test proposition that workers with strong aversion this sort into safer jobs. estimate conditional logit models occupation choice function injury and other job attributes. Our results confirm hypothesis: within gender, single moms dads are most averse risk. Overall, differences explain about one‐quarter occupational gender segregation.