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Greasy Roads: The Impact of Bad Financial News on Road Traffic Accidents

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  • Sotiris Vandoros
  • Georgios Kavetsos
  • Paul Dolan

Abstract

We use evidence from a natural experiment in Greece to study the effect of the announcement of austerity measures on road traffic accidents (RTAs). We use daily RTA data from 2010 and 2011, during which a number of austerity measures were announced, including salary and pension cuts and an increase in direct and indirect taxes. We find that controlling for other factors potentially influencing RTAs, the number of RTAs increased significantly on the first two days following the announcements of austerity measures. We put forward some tentative suggestions for why this happens.

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  • Sotiris Vandoros & Georgios Kavetsos & Paul Dolan, 2014. "Greasy Roads: The Impact of Bad Financial News on Road Traffic Accidents," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(3), pages 556-566, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:34:y:2014:i:3:p:556-566
    DOI: 10.1111/risa.12123
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    2. French, Michael & Gumus, Gulcin, 2024. "Hit-and-Run or Hit-and-Stay? Unintended Effects of a Stricter BAC Limit," IZA Discussion Papers 16774, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Borowiecki, Karol Jan & Kavetsos, Georgios, 2015. "In fatal pursuit of immortal fame: Peer competition and early mortality of music composers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 30-42.
    4. Jofre-Bonet, M. & Serra-Sastre, V. & Vandoros, S., 2016. "Better Health in Times of Hardship?," Working Papers 16/09, Department of Economics, City University London.
    5. Li, Fudong & Zhong, Jieming & He, Fan & Wang, Hao & Lin, Junfen & Yu, Min, 2022. "Stock market fluctuation and stroke incidence: A time series study in Eastern China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    6. Kanavos, Panos & Vandoros, Sotiris, 2023. "Road traffic mortality and economic uncertainty: Evidence from the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    7. Vandoros, Sotiris & Avendano, Mauricio & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2019. "The association between economic uncertainty and suicide in the short-run," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 403-410.
    8. Antonakakis, Nikolaos & Collins, Alan, 2014. "Does Fiscal Consolidation Really Get You Down? Evidence from Suicide Mortality," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 182, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    9. Antonakakis, Nikolaos & Collins, Alan, 2015. "The impact of fiscal austerity on suicide mortality: Evidence across the ‘Eurozone periphery’," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 63-78.

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