Gender, firm size, industry, and estimates of the value-of-life

Abstract

Two national probability samples are used to investigate four empirical questions associated with estimating the value-of-life using coefficients from wage regressions. The four questions pertain to whether wage regression coefficients on fatality rate variables are sensitive to (1) including or excluding women from the sample, (2) definitions of the fatality rate which include estimates of either male only or female only deaths, (3) removing the influence of firm size from the fatality rate or the wage rate, (4) respondents' inaccuracies in reporting their three-digit industry. Problems associated with (3) and (4) are found to be minimal. Problems associated with (1) and (2) also appear to be small if the goal is to estimate the value-of-life for men.