Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty

Publication Date

10-2018

ISSN

0895-5646

Page Number

111

Keywords

sexual harassment, job risks, gender discrimination, value of a statistical life

Disciplines

Civil Rights and Discrimination | Labor and Employment Law | Law

Abstract

Using data on sexual harassment charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I calculate the risk of sexual harassment by gender, industry, and age and establish that white females, but not nonwhite females, receive a compensating wage differential for exposure to a higher risk of sexual harassment. I use this risk premium to calculate the value of statistical harassment (VSH) in a manner analogous to the calculation of the value of statistical life (VSL). The VSH is around $7.6 million, about three-quarters of the size of the most-commonly cited levels of the VSL, and far above the maximum damages award for sexual harassment available under federal law. Boosting the maximum damages award to equal the VSH would create the appropriate economic incentives for organizations to deter sexual harassment.

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