Work-Related Injuries Involving Children and Adolescents: Application of a Recursive Bivariate Probit Model

Abstract

The probability of working children and adolescents aged between 5 and 17 years expe- riencing work-related injury was estimated using the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD – Pesquisa Nacional de Amostras por Domicílio) for 2001. Due to the endoge- nous nature of the “use of personal protective equipment” variable that appears on the right-hand side of the “work-related injury” equation, a recursive simultaneous probit model was estimated. In addition, the marginal effects were discussed and the expres- sions analytically derived. The results showed that tools and chemical products were the main cause of work-related injury, but variables such as the educational level of the household head and family income were also important. Moreover, workers living in the northeast of Brazil and working in the agricultural sector were most likely to experience work-related injury.