Markets and Mortality

Download or read book Markets and Mortality written by Peter Dorman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-12 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a critical survey of conventional economic approaches to occupational safety and the analysis of environmental risk in general. The author concludes that unsafe work is not voluntary, that markets do not compensate workers for risk, and that attempts to put a monetary value on life and health are futile. He attributes the shortcomings of economic orthodoxy to its underlying approach to human decision-making and social interaction, and demonstrates that useful alternative approaches are available. The analysis is used to identify policies that combine effective regulation with democratic values.