Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: K A Bender
Author-Name-First: K A
Author-Name-Last: Bender
Author-Name: C Green
Author-Name-First: C
Author-Name-Last: Green
Author-Name: J S Heywood
Author-Name-First: J S
Author-Name-Last: Heywood
Title: Piece Rates and Workplace Injury: Does Survey Evidence Support Adam Smith?
Abstract: While piece rates are routinely associated with greater productivity and higher wages, they may also generate unanticipated effects. This paper uses cross-country European data to provide among the first broad survey evidence of a strong link between piece rates and workplace injury. Despite unusually good controls for workplace hazards, job characteristics and worker effort, workers on piece rates suffer a large 5 percentage point greater likelihood of injury. As injury rates are typically not controlled for when estimating the premium to piece rates, this raises the specter that a portion of the return to piece rates reflects a compensating wage differential for risk of injury.
Creation-Date: 2010
File-URL: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/content-assets/documents/lums/economics/working-papers/WorkplaceInjury.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Number: 609288
Classification-JEL: 
Keywords: 
Handle: RePEc:lan:wpaper:609288