Pesticides and Worker Safety

Carolyn R. Harper and David Zilberman

American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1992, vol. 74, issue 1, 68-78

Abstract: A key problem in pesticide regulation is uncertainty about health risks. Trade-offs between economic benefits and worker health safety are examined using an empirical illustration. Alternative decision rules for regulation under uncertainty are considered: a safety fixed rule, which protects individuals from excessive health risks, and uncertainty-adjusted cost-benefit analysis, which evaluates aggregate trade-offs between health and economic welfare. These criteria may lead to opposite policy conclusions, suggesting that the most appropriate public policy is a safe minimum standard (SMS), which allows weighing of costs and benefits only after some minimum acceptable level of health safety has been assured.

Date: 1992
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:74:y:1992:i:1:p:68-78.

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