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Temperature, Workplace Safety, and Labor Market Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Park, R. Jisung

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Pankratz, Nora

    (UCLA)

  • Behrer, A. Patrick

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

Using data covering the universe of injury claims from the nation's largest worker's compensation system (2001-2018), we explore the relationship between temperature and workplace safety and its implications for labor market inequality. Hotter temperature increases workplace injuries significantly, causing approximately 20,000 injuries per year. The effects persist in both outdoor and indoor settings (e.g. manufacturing, warehousing), and for injury types ostensibly unrelated to temperature (e.g. falling from heights), consistent with cognitive or cost-related channels. The risks are substantially larger for men versus women; for younger versus older workers; and for workers at the lower end of the income distribution, suggesting that accounting for workplace heat exposure may exacerbate total compensation inequality. We document a decline in the heat-sensitivity of injuries over the study period, suggesting significant scope for adaptation using existing technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Park, R. Jisung & Pankratz, Nora & Behrer, A. Patrick, 2021. "Temperature, Workplace Safety, and Labor Market Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 14560, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14560
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lee, Goeun & Beatty, Timothy, 2022. "Impacts of Wildfire Smoke on Farmworker Labor Supply," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322338, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Mattia Filomena & Matteo Picchio & Alessia Lo Turco, 2024. "Trade exposure, immigrants and workplace injuries," Working Papers 488, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    4. Elizabeth Humphrys & James Goodman & Freya Newman, 2022. "‘Zonked the hell out’: Climate change and heat stress at work," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(2), pages 256-271, June.
    5. Xie, Victoria Wenxin, 2024. "Labor market adjustment to extreme heat shocks: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 266-283.
    6. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2024. "The impact of high temperatures on performance in work-related activities," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Huang, Yi & Li, Yanjun, 2023. "Labor activism over searing heat," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Luke A. Parsons & Drew Shindell & Michelle Tigchelaar & Yuqiang Zhang & June T. Spector, 2021. "Increased labor losses and decreased adaptation potential in a warmer world," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    9. Molitor, David & White, Corey, 2024. "Do cities mitigate or exacerbate environmental damages to health?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    10. Matteo Picchio & Jan C. van Ours, 2024. "High temperatures and workplace injuries," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 24-057/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    11. repec:ags:aaea22:335461 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Mario Lackner & Hendrik Sonnabend, 2024. "When performance melts away: Heat causes mental errors in high-stakes competitions," Economics working papers 2024-11, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    13. Tang, Yuwei & He, Zhenyu, 2024. "Extreme heat and firms' robot adoption: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    14. Till Baldenius & Nicolas Koch & Hannah Klauber & Nadja Klein, 2023. "Heat increases experienced racial segregation in the United States," Papers 2306.13772, arXiv.org.
    15. Jason Sockin, 2022. "Show Me the Amenity: Are Higher-Paying Firms Better All Around?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9842, CESifo.
    16. Katharina Drescher & Benedikt Janzen, 2023. "When Weather Wounds Workers: The Impact of Temperature on Workplace Accidents," Working Papers 226, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    17. Chen, Sicen & Liu, Siyi & Zhang, Junsheng & Zhang, Pengdong, 2023. "The effect of extreme rainfall on corporate financing policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 670-685.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    inequality; labor; workplace safety; temperature; climate change; adaptation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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