Thomas J Kniesner
Biographic Data
| ID | 317043 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas J Kniesner |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas J |
| FAMILY NAME | Kniesner |
| SIGNATURE | KNIESNER T J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Claremont Graduate University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9820-4778 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 24 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Employer Monopsony Power Does Not Reduce the Value of a Statistical Life
Although wage rates are lower when employers have monopsony power, we find that the value of a statistical life (VSL) is not reduced when labor markets are more concentrated. Because the estimated VSL is the product of the wage and the wage-risk tradeoff rate, a greater tradeoff rate in highly concentrated U.S. labor markets produces a larger VSL. The general relationship we find is robust with respect to different labor market data. Our results …
Letter from Former SBCA Presidents and JBCA Editors to Oira Administrator
Regulatory Impact Analysis Guidelines
This article provides a brief Introduction to this special Journal of Benefit–Cost Analysis issue dedicated to comments filed by former presidents of the Society for Benefit Cost Analysis and editors of this journal on the Office of Management and Budget’s draft Circular A–4 on regulatory impact analysis guidelines
The Military VSL
Our research reviews theory and evidence in the economics literature to provide a standard value of a statistical life (VSL) applicable to the Department of Defense (DOD). We follow Viscusi (Best estimate selection bias in the value of a statistical life, Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis , 9(2), 205–246, 2018a) by conducting a meta-analysis of 1,025 VSL estimates from 68 different labor market studies and find a best-set average VSL estimate of $…
A Tale of the Tails
The considerable literature on the value of a statistical life (VSL) documents the wage-mortality risk trade-offs for the working population. Regulatory analyses often must monetize risks to populations at the tails of the age distribution. Because of the longer life expectancy for children, there have been proposals to add a premium to their VSL, which would generate an inconsistency with revealed preference estimates of the VSL trajectory over …
Promoting Equity through Equitable Risk Tradeoffs
The impact and economic merits of President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 on equity depend on how the executive order is implemented. While policy discussion to date has focused on equitable outcomes, we propose framing risk equity policies in terms of equitable risk tradeoff rates based on six policy guidelines. The starting point for ex ante evaluation of equity for mortality risk policies should be the symmetric application of the value of a s…
Differential and Distributional Effects of Energy Efficiency Surveys
Our research investigates the effects of residential energy efficiency audit programs on subsequent household electricity consumption. Here there is a one-time interaction between households, which participate voluntarily, and the surveyors. Our research objective is to determine whether and to what extent the surveys lead to behavioral changes. We then examine how persistent the intervention is over time and whether the effects decay or intensif…
The Value of a Statistical Life
We address long-standing concerns in the literature on compensating wage differentials: the econometric properties of the estimated value of statistical life (VSL) and the wide range of such estimates. We confront prominent econometric issues using panel data, a more accurate fatality risk measure, and systematic application of panel data estimators. Controlling for measurement error, endogeneity, latent individual heterogeneity possibly correlat…
Chronic Illness and Health Insurance‐Related Job Lock
Job duration patterns are examined for evidence of health insurance-related job lock among chronically ill workers or workers whose family member is chronically ill. Using Cox proportional hazard models to indicate the effect of health insurance and health status on workers' job duration we allow for more general insurance effects than that shown in the existing literature. Data for workers in Indiana predating the Health Insurance Portability an…
Chronic Illness and Health Insurance‐Related Job Lock
Job duration patterns are examined for evidence of health insurance-related job lock among chronically ill workers or workers whose family member is chronically ill. Using Cox proportional hazard models to indicate the effect of health insurance and health status on workers' job duration we allow for more general insurance effects than that shown in the existing literature. Data for workers in Indiana predating the Health Insurance Portability an…
Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
Extimating Life Cycle labor Supply Tax Effects
We present an econometrically tractable life cycle labor supply model for panel data including intertemporally progressive taxes on uncertai wage and nonwge incomes. Our two‐stage fixedeffects generalized method‐of‐moments approach first extimates intretemporal and then intertemporal preferences. Specification testing domonstrates the value of incorporating joint progressive taxation of labor and nonlabor incomes, Results for prime‐age men emphas…
Effect of Mental Health Specialty Care on Antidepressant Length of Therapy
OBJECTIVES: Treatment of depression with medications and psychotherapy clearly is efficacious, but not all patients require such intensive therapy. In this report, we examine the costs and effects of dual treatment on a population of employees and their families with depression. We sought to determine the costs and length of medication treatment consequences of providing mental health specialty care to antidepressant-treated individuals. RESEARCH…
Count Data Models with Variance of Unknown Form
We examine an econometric model of counts of worker absences due to illness in a sluggishly adjusting hedonic labor market. We compare three estimators that parameterize the conditional variance—least squares, Poisson, and negative binomial pseudo maximum likelihood—to generalized least squares (GLS) using nonparametric estimates of the conditional variance. Our data support the hedonic absenteeism model. Semiparametric GLS coefficients are simil…
Markets and mortality
Markets and mortality
Permanent Disability Benefits in Workers' Compensation
Separating the Reporting Effects from the Injury Rate Effects of Workers' Compensation Insurance
This paper presents a numerical simulation, based on data from the early 1970s, to investigate the economic links between labor market outcomes and the workers' compensation insurance system. The results suggest that, in most cases, any of three changes in the system-more generous benefits, more accurate categorization of insurance claims, or more complete experience rating of premiums-will slightly reduce the actual number of work-related injuri…
Safety and the Workforce
The Full-Time Workweek in the United States, 1900-1970
Working Hours
Predicting presidential performance
The Full-Time Workweek in the United States, 1900-1970
Analysis of the average workweek of workers in the United States from 1900 to 1940. Discussion of the shortcomings of the traditional labor market model; Empirical results of the study. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)
Chronic Illness and Health Insurance‐Related Job Lock
Job duration patterns are examined for evidence of health insurance-related job lock among chronically ill workers or workers whose family member is chronically ill. Using Cox proportional hazard models to indicate the effect of health insurance and health status on workers' job duration we allow for more general insurance effects than that shown in the existing literature. Data for workers in Indiana predating the Health Insurance Portability an…
The Full-Time Workweek in the United States, 1900-1970
Analysis of the average workweek of workers in the United States from 1900 to 1940. Discussion of the shortcomings of the traditional labor market model; Empirical results of the study. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)
Promoting Equity through Equitable Risk Tradeoffs
The impact and economic merits of President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 on equity depend on how the executive order is implemented. While policy discussion to date has focused on equitable outcomes, we propose framing risk equity policies in terms of equitable risk tradeoff rates based on six policy guidelines. The starting point for ex ante evaluation of equity for mortality risk policies should be the symmetric application of the value of a s…
A Tale of the Tails
The considerable literature on the value of a statistical life (VSL) documents the wage-mortality risk trade-offs for the working population. Regulatory analyses often must monetize risks to populations at the tails of the age distribution. Because of the longer life expectancy for children, there have been proposals to add a premium to their VSL, which would generate an inconsistency with revealed preference estimates of the VSL trajectory over …
Differential and Distributional Effects of Energy Efficiency Surveys
Our research investigates the effects of residential energy efficiency audit programs on subsequent household electricity consumption. Here there is a one-time interaction between households, which participate voluntarily, and the surveyors. Our research objective is to determine whether and to what extent the surveys lead to behavioral changes. We then examine how persistent the intervention is over time and whether the effects decay or intensif…
Extimating Life Cycle labor Supply Tax Effects
We present an econometrically tractable life cycle labor supply model for panel data including intertemporally progressive taxes on uncertai wage and nonwge incomes. Our two‐stage fixedeffects generalized method‐of‐moments approach first extimates intretemporal and then intertemporal preferences. Specification testing domonstrates the value of incorporating joint progressive taxation of labor and nonlabor incomes, Results for prime‐age men emphas…
Separating the Reporting Effects from the Injury Rate Effects of Workers' Compensation Insurance
This paper presents a numerical simulation, based on data from the early 1970s, to investigate the economic links between labor market outcomes and the workers' compensation insurance system. The results suggest that, in most cases, any of three changes in the system-more generous benefits, more accurate categorization of insurance claims, or more complete experience rating of premiums-will slightly reduce the actual number of work-related injuri…
The Full-Time Workweek in the United States, 1900-1970
Analysis of the average workweek of workers in the United States from 1900 to 1940. Discussion of the shortcomings of the traditional labor market model; Empirical results of the study. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)
The Full-Time Workweek in the United States, 1900-1970
Working Hours
Predicting presidential performance
Safety and the Workforce
Permanent Disability Benefits in Workers' Compensation
Separating the Reporting Effects from the Injury Rate Effects of Workers' Compensation Insurance
This paper presents a numerical simulation, based on data from the early 1970s, to investigate the economic links between labor market outcomes and the workers' compensation insurance system. The results suggest that, in most cases, any of three changes in the system-more generous benefits, more accurate categorization of insurance claims, or more complete experience rating of premiums-will slightly reduce the actual number of work-related injuri…
Count Data Models with Variance of Unknown Form
We examine an econometric model of counts of worker absences due to illness in a sluggishly adjusting hedonic labor market. We compare three estimators that parameterize the conditional variance—least squares, Poisson, and negative binomial pseudo maximum likelihood—to generalized least squares (GLS) using nonparametric estimates of the conditional variance. Our data support the hedonic absenteeism model. Semiparametric GLS coefficients are simil…
Markets and mortality
Markets and mortality
Extimating Life Cycle labor Supply Tax Effects
We present an econometrically tractable life cycle labor supply model for panel data including intertemporally progressive taxes on uncertai wage and nonwge incomes. Our two‐stage fixedeffects generalized method‐of‐moments approach first extimates intretemporal and then intertemporal preferences. Specification testing domonstrates the value of incorporating joint progressive taxation of labor and nonlabor incomes, Results for prime‐age men emphas…
Effect of Mental Health Specialty Care on Antidepressant Length of Therapy
OBJECTIVES: Treatment of depression with medications and psychotherapy clearly is efficacious, but not all patients require such intensive therapy. In this report, we examine the costs and effects of dual treatment on a population of employees and their families with depression. We sought to determine the costs and length of medication treatment consequences of providing mental health specialty care to antidepressant-treated individuals. RESEARCH…
Chronic Illness and Health Insurance‐Related Job Lock
Job duration patterns are examined for evidence of health insurance-related job lock among chronically ill workers or workers whose family member is chronically ill. Using Cox proportional hazard models to indicate the effect of health insurance and health status on workers' job duration we allow for more general insurance effects than that shown in the existing literature. Data for workers in Indiana predating the Health Insurance Portability an…
Chronic Illness and Health Insurance‐Related Job Lock
Job duration patterns are examined for evidence of health insurance-related job lock among chronically ill workers or workers whose family member is chronically ill. Using Cox proportional hazard models to indicate the effect of health insurance and health status on workers' job duration we allow for more general insurance effects than that shown in the existing literature. Data for workers in Indiana predating the Health Insurance Portability an…
Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
The Value of a Statistical Life
We address long-standing concerns in the literature on compensating wage differentials: the econometric properties of the estimated value of statistical life (VSL) and the wide range of such estimates. We confront prominent econometric issues using panel data, a more accurate fatality risk measure, and systematic application of panel data estimators. Controlling for measurement error, endogeneity, latent individual heterogeneity possibly correlat…
Differential and Distributional Effects of Energy Efficiency Surveys
Our research investigates the effects of residential energy efficiency audit programs on subsequent household electricity consumption. Here there is a one-time interaction between households, which participate voluntarily, and the surveyors. Our research objective is to determine whether and to what extent the surveys lead to behavioral changes. We then examine how persistent the intervention is over time and whether the effects decay or intensif…
Promoting Equity through Equitable Risk Tradeoffs
The impact and economic merits of President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 on equity depend on how the executive order is implemented. While policy discussion to date has focused on equitable outcomes, we propose framing risk equity policies in terms of equitable risk tradeoff rates based on six policy guidelines. The starting point for ex ante evaluation of equity for mortality risk policies should be the symmetric application of the value of a s…
A Tale of the Tails
The considerable literature on the value of a statistical life (VSL) documents the wage-mortality risk trade-offs for the working population. Regulatory analyses often must monetize risks to populations at the tails of the age distribution. Because of the longer life expectancy for children, there have been proposals to add a premium to their VSL, which would generate an inconsistency with revealed preference estimates of the VSL trajectory over …
Letter from Former SBCA Presidents and JBCA Editors to Oira Administrator
Regulatory Impact Analysis Guidelines
This article provides a brief Introduction to this special Journal of Benefit–Cost Analysis issue dedicated to comments filed by former presidents of the Society for Benefit Cost Analysis and editors of this journal on the Office of Management and Budget’s draft Circular A–4 on regulatory impact analysis guidelines
The Military VSL
Our research reviews theory and evidence in the economics literature to provide a standard value of a statistical life (VSL) applicable to the Department of Defense (DOD). We follow Viscusi (Best estimate selection bias in the value of a statistical life, Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis , 9(2), 205–246, 2018a) by conducting a meta-analysis of 1,025 VSL estimates from 68 different labor market studies and find a best-set average VSL estimate of $…
Employer Monopsony Power Does Not Reduce the Value of a Statistical Life
Although wage rates are lower when employers have monopsony power, we find that the value of a statistical life (VSL) is not reduced when labor markets are more concentrated. Because the estimated VSL is the product of the wage and the wage-risk tradeoff rate, a greater tradeoff rate in highly concentrated U.S. labor markets produces a larger VSL. The general relationship we find is robust with respect to different labor market data. Our results …
Economics (16 works) · Business (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · Econometrics (6 works) · Economic and Environmental Valuation (6 works) · Engineering (6 works) · Demographic economics (5 works) · Economic growth (5 works) · Labour economics (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works)