Worker adjustment to unexpected occupational risk: Evidence from COVID-19

Nils Braakmann, Barbara Eberth and John Wildman

European Economic Review, 2022, vol. 150, issue C

Abstract: We study the link between the revelation of a hitherto non-existent occupational risk – mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – and subsequent worker behaviour. We link occupation-specific data on COVID-19 mortality to individual level data sets. We find that wages did not adjust, but workers started leaving high-risk occupations during 2020. These effects are stronger for workers not affected by lockdowns or working from home orders and for those considered to be clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 and are not driven by negative health shocks or employer-initiated separations. Occupation-level results suggest that employment began to rebound in 2021.

Keywords: Compensating differential; Mortality risk; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 J17 J22 J28 J31 J62 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:150:y:2022:i:c:s0014292122002057

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104325

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