Economic Behaviour of the Firm and Prevention of Occupational Injuries

In this paper an economic model of the firm's behaviour is presented, examining the interrelationship between prevention activities and employment level. A competitive firm with a fixed capital stock is considered. Two decisions must be made: the level of employment of homogeneous workers (L) and the level of prevention activities (I). Although many simplifying assumptions are adopted, the impact of wage rate and compensation level on both decision variables is sign ambiguous. Moreover the case where injured workers are irreplaceable is more difficult than its counterpart with perfect substitutability.