194 research outputs found
What\u27s New on Jane\u27s Bookshelf?
When Iâm not teaching, Iâm scouring bookstores and websites for interesting new releases in childrenâs and young adult literature. My dogs donât even bark anymore when the UPS man shows up at the front door with a box of books; heâs sort of become part of our family.
Iâve listed here a handful of books that recently piqued my interestâwhether I was intrigued by the topic, the aesthetic post-modern appearance, and/or what I can do with the text in the classroom
Hedonic Wage Equilibrium: Theory, Evidence and Policy
We examine theoretically and empirically the properties of the equilibrium wage function and its implications for policy. Our emphasis is on how the researcher approaches economic and policy questions when there is labor market heterogeneity leading to a set of wages. We focus on the application where hedonic models have been most successful at clarifying policy relevant outcomes and policy effects, that of the wage premia for fatal injury risk. Estimates of the overall hedonic locus we discuss imply the so-called value of a statistical life (VSL) that is useful as the benefit value in a cost-effectiveness calculation of government programs to enhance personal safety. Additional econometric results described are the multiple dimensions of heterogeneity in VSL, including by age and consumption plans, the latent trait that affects wages and job safety setting choice, and family income. Simulations of hedonic market outcomes are also valuable research tools. To demonstrate the additional usefulness of giving detail to the underlying structure we not only develop the issue of welfare comparisons theoretically but also illustrate how numerical simulations of the underlying structure can also be informative. Using a reasonable set of primitives we see that job safety regulations are much more limited in their potential for improving workplace safety efficiently compared to mandatory injury insurance with experience rated premiums. The simulations reveal how regulations incent some workers to take more dangerous jobs, while workersâ compensation insurance does not (or less so).hedonic labor market equilibrium, VSL, panel data, job safety, OSHA, quantile regression, workersâ compensation insurance
Workplace Safety Policy: Past, Present, and Future
With an annual budget of about 210 billion per year, that workers receive for accepting job-related health hazards give employers a stronger economic incentive to eliminate workplace health and safety hazards than the $132 million per year in fines imposed by OSHA and its state counterparts for violations of workplace safety standards. Because of the heterogeneity of workers and firms, we argue that public policy should expand the economic incentives for workplace safety while allowing firms and workers freedom to discover on their own the best ways to improve workplace safety.
Must-Have Books: Critical Reading for Your Classroom Library
Visiting Scholar Katherine Bomer shared more than four dozen books with teachers at our 2012 Winter Workshop, helping us envision Critical Reading and Writing for Social Action units for our own classrooms. If you missed the workshop or didnât get to see all of Katherineâs 50+ books, IPYW reading workshop coach Jane Leeth can help. Here, Jane presents her âmust-haveâ recommendations from Katherineâs stackâincluding grade levels and story descriptions
Data Mining Mining Data: MSHA Enforcement Efforts, Underground Coal Mine Safety, and New Health Implications
Studies of industrial safety regulations, OSHA in particular, often find little effect on worker safety. Critics of the regulatory approach argue that safety standards have little to do with industrial injuries, and defenders of the regulatory approach cite infrequent inspections and low penalties for violating safety standards. We use recently assembled data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) concerning underground coal mine production, safety regulatory activities, and workplace injuries to shed new light on the regulatory approach to workplace safety. Because all underground coal mines are inspected at least once per quarter, MSHA regulations will not be ineffective because of infrequent inspections. We estimate over 200 different specifications of dynamic mine safety production functions, including ones using deliberately upward biased estimators, and cherry pick the most favorable mine safety effect estimates. Although most estimates are of insignificant MSHA effects, we select the single regression specification producing the most favorable MSHA impact from the agency viewpoint, which we then use in a policy evaluation. We address the question of whether it would be cost-effective to move some of MSHA's enforcement budget into alternative programs that could also improve the health of the typical miner. Even using cherry picked results most favorable to the agency, MSHA is not cost effective at its current levels. Even though MSHA is a small program when judged against others like OSHA and EPA, MSHA's targeted public health objective could be much better served (almost 700,000 life years gained on balance for typical miners) if a quarter of MSHA's enforcement budget were reallocated to other programs such as more heart disease screening or defibrillators at worksites.
Solar Power in Architecture
This paper investigates the barriers and solutions to the use of solar power in architecture. It examines the emergence of solar power and its history. It looks into social, political, economic, and design issues surrounding solar panels in architecture
Workplace Safety Policy: Past, Present, and Future
With an annual budget of about 210 billion per year, that workers receive for accepting job-related health hazards give employers a stronger economic incentive to eliminate workplace health and safety hazards than the $132 million per year in fines imposed by OSHA and its state counterparts for violations of workplace safety standards. Because of the heterogeneity of workers and firms, we argue that public policy should expand the economic incentives for workplace safety while allowing firms and workers freedom to discover on their own the best ways to improve workplace safety
Hedonic Wage Equilibrium: Theory, Evidence and Policy
We examine theoretically and empirically the properties of the equilibrium wage function and its implications for policy. Our emphasis is on how the researcher approaches economic and policy questions when there is labor market heterogeneity leading to a set of wages. We focus on the application where hedonic models have been most successful at clarifying policy relevant outcomes and policy effects, that of the wage premia for fatal injury risk. Estimates of the overall hedonic locus we discuss imply the so-called value of a statistical life (VSL) that is useful as the benefit value in a cost-effectiveness calculation of government programs to enhance personal safety. Additional econometric results described are the multiple dimensions of heterogeneity in VSL, including by age and consumption plans, the latent trait that affects wages and job safety setting choice, and family income. Simulations of hedonic market outcomes are also valuable research tools. To demonstrate the additional usefulness of giving detail to the underlying structure we not only develop the issue of welfare comparisons theoretically but also illustrate how numerical simulations of the underlying structure can also be informative. Using a reasonable set of primitives we see that job safety regulations are much more limited in their potential for improving workplace safety efficiently compared to mandatory injury insurance with experience rated premiums. The simulations reveal how regulations incent some workers to take more dangerous jobs, while workersïŸ compensation insurance does not (or less so)
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