IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v69y2009i2p178-182.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of the business cycle on occupational injuries in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Davies, Rhys
  • Jones, Paul
  • Nuñez, Imanol

Abstract

This paper investigates the cyclical fluctuations in rates of workplace injury for the UK from 1986 to 2005. Time series analysis shows that, in aggregate terms, the rate of minor injuries is pro-cyclical whilst the rate of major injury is not affected by the level of economic activity. Analysis by sector reveals that cyclical fluctuations are sharper in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Using panel data, we find that fluctuations in both the rates of minor and major injury are related to the level of new hiring and the ratio of actual to usual hours worked. However, only minor injuries are related to variables that control for workers' bargaining power. The analysis demonstrates the importance of both compositional effects and individual reporting behaviour to understanding cyclical variations in workplace injury rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Davies, Rhys & Jones, Paul & Nuñez, Imanol, 2009. "The impact of the business cycle on occupational injuries in the UK," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 178-182, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:69:y:2009:i:2:p:178-182
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(09)00264-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guadalupe, Maria, 2003. "The hidden costs of fixed term contracts: the impact on work accidents," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 339-357, June.
    2. Barmby, T A & Orme, C D & Treble, John G, 1991. "Worker Absenteeism: An Analysis Using Microdata," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(405), pages 214-229, March.
    3. Dickerson, A P, 1994. "The Cyclicality of British Strike Frequency," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 56(3), pages 285-303, August.
    4. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Are Recessions Good for Your Health?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 617-650.
    5. Dew, Kevin & Keefe, Vera & Small, Keitha, 2005. "'Choosing' to work when sick: workplace presenteeism," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 2273-2282, May.
    6. Millard, Stephen & Scott, Andrew & Sensier, Marianne, 1997. "The Labour Market over the Business Cycle: Can Theory Fit the Facts?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 70-92, Autumn.
    7. Newey, Whitney & West, Kenneth, 2014. "A simple, positive semi-definite, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance matrix," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 33(1), pages 125-132.
    8. Leigh, J. Paul, 1985. "The effects of unemployment and the business cycle on absenteeism," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 159-170, May.
    9. Curtis Breslin, F. & Polzer, Jessica & MacEachen, Ellen & Morrongiello, Barbara & Shannon, Harry, 2007. "Workplace injury or "part of the job"?: Towards a gendered understanding of injuries and complaints among young workers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 782-793, February.
    10. Neumayer, Eric, 2004. "Recessions lower (some) mortality rates:: evidence from Germany," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(6), pages 1037-1047, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Watson, Dorothy & Maitre, Bertrand & Russell, Helen, 2015. "Workplace Risks and Worker Outcomes in Ireland from a Comparative Perspective: An Analysis of the European Working Conditions Survey, 2005 and 2010," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS46.
    2. Delgado-Cubillo, Pablo & Martín-Román, Ángel L., 2023. "Workers’ behavior after safety regulations: Impact evaluation of the Spanish Occupational Safety and Health Act," MPRA Paper 117284, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Angelo Castaldo & Anna Rita Germani & Alessia Marrocco & Marco Forti & Andrea Salustri, 2024. "Drivers and frictions of workplace accidents: an empirical investigation of cross-country European heterogeneity," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(24), pages 2931-2946, May.
    4. Ali Palali & Jan C. Ours, 2017. "Workplace Accidents and Workplace Safety: On Under-reporting and Temporary Jobs," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(1), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Urbanos-Garrido, Rosa M. & Gonzalez Lopez-Valcarcel, Beatriz, 2013. "Desempleo y salud: Un análisis de la repercusión de la crisis económica sobre la salud de los españoles/Unemployment and Health: An Analysis of the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Health of the S," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 31, pages 303-326, Septiembr.
    6. Stefanie Thönnes & Stefan Pichler, 2019. "Sickness absence and unemployment revisited," Working Papers Dissertations 53, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    7. Rosa Urbanos-Garrido & Beatriz Lopez-Valcarcel, 2015. "The influence of the economic crisis on the association between unemployment and health: an empirical analysis for Spain," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 16(2), pages 175-184, March.
    8. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan, 2016. "Temporary Jobs and the Severity of Workplace Accidents," Other publications TiSEM 0dfc3a41-4239-4132-b415-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Stefan Pichler, 2015. "Sickness Absence, Moral Hazard, and the Business Cycle," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 692-710, June.
    10. Athina Economou & Ioannis Theodossiou, 2015. "Join the Union and Be Safe: The Effects of Unionization on Occupational Safety and Health in the European Union," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(2), pages 127-140, June.
    11. Li-Ting Yeh, 2017. "Incorporating Workplace Injury to Measure the Safety Performance of Industrial Sectors in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Lafuente, Esteban & Daza, Viviana, 2020. "Work inspections as a control mechanism for mitigating work accidents in Europe," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 14(1), pages 26-37.
    13. Simo Salminen & Donghyun Seo, 2015. "Future of Occupational Injuries," International Journal of Asian Social Science, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(6), pages 341-354, June.
    14. Andrea Salustri & Marco Forti & Maria Alessandra Antonelli & Alessia Marrocco, 2023. "Accidents at work in Italy: an empirical analysis at the regional level," Public Finance Research Papers 60, Istituto di Economia e Finanza, DSGE, Sapienza University of Rome.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Konstantinos, Pouliakas & Ioannis, Theodossiou, 2010. "An Inquiry Into the Theory, Causes and Consequences of Monitoring Indicators of Health and Safety At Work," MPRA Paper 20336, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Stefan Pichler, 2015. "Sickness Absence, Moral Hazard, and the Business Cycle," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 692-710, June.
    3. Moral De Blas, Alfonso & Corrales-Herrero, Helena & Martín-Román, Ángel, 2012. "Glass Ceiling or Slippery Floors? Understanding Gender Differences in the Spanish Worker’s Compensation System/¿Techo de cristal o suelo resbaladizo? Comprendiendo las diferencias de género en el sist," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 30, pages 311-340, Abril.
    4. Gerdtham, Ulf-G. & Ruhm, Christopher J., 2006. "Deaths rise in good economic times: Evidence from the OECD," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 298-316, December.
    5. Wu, Wen-Chieh & Cheng, Hui-Pei, 2010. "Symmetric mortality and asymmetric suicide cycles," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 1974-1981, June.
    6. Ainhoa Aparicio, 2014. "Newborn Health and the Business Cycle," CINCH Working Paper Series 1402, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    7. Wang, Huixia & Wang, Chenggang & Halliday, Timothy J., 2018. "Health and health inequality during the great recession: Evidence from the PSID," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 17-30.
    8. Clémentine Garrouste & Mathilde Godard, 2016. "The lasting health impact of leaving school in a bad economy : Britons in the 1970s recession," Post-Print hal-01408637, HAL.
    9. Mohamed Osman & Ariful Hoque & Kamrul Hassan, 2016. "Business Cycle Asymmetries and Nonlinearity in UAE Macroeconomic Time Series," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 476-490, December.
    10. Cristina Bellés‐Obrero & Sergi Jiménez‐Martín & Judit Vall‐Castello, 2016. "Bad Times, Slimmer Children?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(S2), pages 93-112, November.
    11. Abdou, Rawayda & Cassells, Damien & Berrill, Jenny & Hanly, Jim, 2020. "An empirical investigation of the relationship between business performance and suicide in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    12. Andrén, Daniela, 2001. "Short-Term Absenteeism Due To Sickness: The Swedish Experience, 1986 - 1991," Working Papers in Economics 46, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    13. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2009-015 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Maarten Dossche & Andrea Gavazzi & Vivien Lewis, 2023. "Labor Adjustment and Productivity in the OECD," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 47, pages 111-130, January.
    15. Petri Böckerman & Edvard Johansson & Satu Helakorpi & Ritva Prättälä & Erkki Vartiainen & Antti Uutela, 2007. "Does a slump really make you thinner? Finnish micro‐level evidence 1978–2002," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(1), pages 103-107, January.
    16. Cristina Borra & Jerònia Pons-Pons & Margarita Vilar-Rodríguez, 2020. "Austerity, healthcare provision, and health outcomes in Spain," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(3), pages 409-423, April.
    17. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2008-031 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Tapia Granados, José A. & Rodriguez, Javier M., 2015. "Health, economic crisis, and austerity: A comparison of Greece, Finland and Iceland," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(7), pages 941-953.
    19. Edwards, Ryan, 2008. "Who is hurt by procyclical mortality?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2051-2058, December.
    20. Bratberg, Espen & Monstad, Karin, 2015. "Worried sick? Worker responses to a financial shock," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 111-120.
    21. Sheng-Ti Hung & Hui He, 2011. "Are Recessions Good for Your Health? A Macroeconomic Analysis," 2011 Meeting Papers 1178, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    22. Joan Costa-Font & Martin Karlsson & Henning Øien, 2015. "Informal Care and the Great Recession," CINCH Working Paper Series 1502, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health, revised Feb 2015.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:69:y:2009:i:2:p:178-182. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.