The Impact of Union on the Compensation for Job Risks

This study examines the worker's behaviour in choosing their job risks and the role of trade unions in influencing the wage-risk trade-off. It also analyses the problem of sample selection and its effects on the estimated compensation for job risks. The empirical results provide a strong support for the efficiency of labour market in deriving the optimal risk level. They also imply that the unionists receive a higher compensation for work related risks than the non-unionists. Allowing for sample selectivity produces a downward bias in the estimated union wage differentials for deadly hazards. The estimated values of life and injury might he useful for policy makers, international agencies and researchers in evaluating the health projects in India.