IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ksp/journ1/v2y2015i3p351-373.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Struggle for Regulatory Power between States and the US Federal Government: The Case of Workers’ Compensation Insurance 1930-2000

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel K. ALLEN

    (Virginia Military Institute, USA.)

Abstract

This paper contributes to our understanding of the power struggle for regulatory control between the states and the US federal government, especially during the Progressive and Great Society eras. By focusing on one substantial social insurance program – workers’ compensation insurance – the effects of competition between the federal government and the states over regulatory control are demonstrated. Calls for greater generosity in the early 1970s, and the threat of a federal takeover of workers’ compensation insurance induced dramatic and lasting changes. States reacted to the federal government’s recommendations and neighboring states’ actions by raising benefit levels. A comprehensive index of expected monetary wage-replacement benefits across the US between 1930 and 2000 is constructed to demonstrate the variation over time and across states.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel K. ALLEN, 2015. "Struggle for Regulatory Power between States and the US Federal Government: The Case of Workers’ Compensation Insurance 1930-2000," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 2(3), pages 351-373, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ksp:journ1:v:2:y:2015:i:3:p:351-373
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.kspjournals.org/index.php/JEPE/article/download/378/476
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.kspjournals.org/index.php/JEPE/article/view/378
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Viscusi, W Kip & Moore, Michael J, 1987. "Workers' Compensation: Wage Effects, Benefit Inadequacies, and the Value of Health Losses," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(2), pages 249-261, May.
    2. Thomas J. Kniesner & John D. Leeth, 1989. "Separating the Reporting Effects from the Injury Rate Effects of Workers' Compensation Insurance: A Hedonic Simulation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 42(2), pages 280-293, January.
    3. ., 1998. "Economic History," Chapters, in: John B. Davis & D. W. Hands & Uskali Mäki (ed.), The Handbook of Economic Methodology, chapter 27, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1994. "Protection for Sale," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 833-850, September.
    5. Fishback, Price V., 1992. "Soft Coal, Hard Choices: The Economic Welfare of Bituminous Coal Miners, 1890-1930," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195067255.
    6. Harrington, Scott E & Danzon, Patricia M, 2000. "Rate Regulation, Safety Incentives, and Loss Growth in Workers' Compensation Insurance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(4), pages 569-595, October.
    7. Leo Troy, 1965. "Introduction to "Trade Union Membership, 1897–1962"," NBER Chapters, in: Trade Union Membership, 1897–1962, pages 1-10, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    9. Leo Troy, 1965. "Trade Union Membership, 1897–1962," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number troy65-1.
    10. Giovanni Maggi & Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, 1999. "Protection for Sale: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1135-1155, December.
    11. Butler, Richard J & Worrall, John D, 1983. "Workers' Compensation: Benefit and Injury Claims Rates in the Seventies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 580-589, November.
    12. Price V. Fishback & Shawn Everett Kantor, 2000. "A Prelude to the Welfare State: The Origins of Workers' Compensation," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number fish00-1.
    13. Leo Troy, 1957. "Distribution of Union Membership among the States, 1939 and 1953," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number troy57-1.
    14. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    15. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Jonathan Gruber & Alan B. Krueger, 1991. "The Incidence of Mandated Employer-Provided Insurance: Lessons from Workers' Compensation Insurance," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 5, pages 111-144, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Gary S. Becker, 1983. "A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(3), pages 371-400.
    18. Kishore Gawande & Usree Bandyopadhyay, 2000. "Is Protection for Sale? Evidence on the Grossman-Helpman Theory of Endogenous Protection," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 139-152, February.
    19. Theo Eicher & Thomas Osang, 2002. "Protection for Sale: An Empirical Investigation: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1702-1710, December.
    20. Danzon, Patricia M, 1988. "The Political Economy of Workers' Compensation: Lessons for Product Liability," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 305-310, May.
    21. Higgs, Robert, 1985. "Crisis, bigger government, and ideological change: Two hypotheses on the ratchet phenomenon," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 1-28, January.
    22. Richard Thaler & Sherwin Rosen, 1976. "The Value of Saving a Life: Evidence from the Labor Market," NBER Chapters, in: Household Production and Consumption, pages 265-302, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Arnould, Richard J & Nichols, Len M, 1983. "Wage-Risk Premiums and Workers' Compensation: A Refinement of Estimates of Compensating Wage Differential," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(2), pages 332-340, April.
    24. Nestor E. Terleckyj, 1976. "Household Production and Consumption," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number terl76-1.
    25. Price V. Fishback & Shawn Everett Kantor, 1995. "Did Workers Pay for the Passage of Workers' Compensation Laws?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 713-742.
    26. Jerome Pollack, 1953. "A Policy Decision for Workmen's Compensation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 7(1), pages 51-62, October.
    27. Danzon, Patricia M & Harrington, Scott E, 2001. "Worker's Compensation Rate Regulation: How Price Controls Increase Costs," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 1-36, April.
    28. Poole, Keith T., 2001. "The Geometry of Multidimensional Quadratic Utility in Models of Parliamentary Roll Call Voting," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(3), pages 211-226, January.
    29. Fishback, Price V. & Kantor, Shawn Everett, 2000. "A Prelude to the Welfare State," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226251639.
    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. Andy Yuan & Price V. Fishback, 2020. "Rising Burdens of Proofs and The Grand Bargain of Workers’ Compensation Laws," NBER Working Papers 26980, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Price V. Fishback, 2020. "Social Insurance and Public Assistance in the Twentieth-Century United States: 2019 Presidential Address for the Economic History Association," NBER Working Papers 26938, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    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. Price V. Fishback, 2006. "The Irony of Reform. Did Large Employers Subvert Workplace Safety Reform, 1869 to 1930?," NBER Chapters, in: Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History, pages 285-318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Etienne Farvaque & Gael Lagadec, 2009. "Electoral Control when Policies are for Sale," CESifo Working Paper Series 2522, CESifo.
    3. Deniz Igan & Prachi Mishra & Thierry Tressel, 2012. "A Fistful of Dollars: Lobbying and the Financial Crisis," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(1), pages 195-230.
    4. Mirabelle Muûls & Dimitra Petropoulou, 2013. "A swing state theory of trade protection in the Electoral College," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(2), pages 705-724, May.
    5. Facchini, Giovanni & Mayda, Anna Maria & Mishra, Prachi, 2011. "Do interest groups affect US immigration policy?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 114-128, September.
    6. Saha, Amrita, 2019. "Trade policy & lobbying effectiveness: Theory and evidence for India," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 165-192.
    7. Cassing, James H. & Long, Ngo Van, 2021. "Trade in trash: A political economy approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Giovanni Facchini & Johannes Van Biesebroeck & Gerald Willmann, 2006. "Protection for sale with imperfect rent capturing," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(3), pages 845-873, August.
    9. Richard J. Butler & John D. Worrall, 2008. "Wage and Injury Response to Shifts in Workplace Liability," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(2), pages 181-200, January.
    10. Philip I. Levy, 2003. "Non-Tariff Barriers as a Test of Political Economy Theories," Working Papers 852, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    11. Matschke, Xenia, 2008. "Costly revenue-raising and the case for favoring import-competing industries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 143-157, January.
    12. Martimort, David, 2019. ""When Olson Meets Dahl": From Inefficient Groups Formation to Inefficient Policy-Making," CEPR Discussion Papers 13843, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Tomaso Duso & Astrid Jung, 2012. "Product Market Competition and Lobbying Coordination in the U.S. Mobile Telecommunications Industry," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 177-201, June.
    14. Danzon, Patricia M & Harrington, Scott E, 2001. "Worker's Compensation Rate Regulation: How Price Controls Increase Costs," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 1-36, April.
    15. Kee, Hiau Looi & Olarreaga, Marcelo & Silva, Peri, 2007. "Market access for sale," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 79-94, January.
    16. Chang, Pao-Li, 2005. "Protection for sale under monopolistic competition," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 509-526, July.
    17. Xenia Matschke & Shane M. Sherlund, 2006. "Do Labor Issues Matter in the Determination of U.S. Trade Policy? An Empirical Reevaluation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 405-421, March.
    18. Giacomo Ponzetto, 2008. "Asymmetric information and trade policy," Economics Working Papers 1253, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Oct 2010.
    19. Olper, Alessandro, 2017. "The political economy of trade-related regulatory policy: environment and global value chain," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 5(3), February.
    20. Kishore Gawande & Pravin Krishna & Michael J. Robbins, 2006. "Foreign Lobbies and U.S. Trade Policy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(3), pages 563-571, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political Economy; Workers Compensation.;

    JEL classification:

    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N42 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ksp:journ1:v:2:y:2015:i:3:p:351-373. 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: Bilal KARGI (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.kspjournals.org .

    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.