Empirical evidence shows that in recessions the number of
workplace accidents goes down. This paper presents a theory and an empirical
investigation to explain this phenomenon. The theory is based on the idea
that reporting an accident dents the reputation of a worker and raises the
probability that he is fired. Therefore, if unemployment is high fewer
workplace accidents are reported. The empirical investigation concerns
workplace accidents in 16 OECD countries. We conclude that cyclical
fluctuations in workplace accidents have to do with reporting behavior of
workers and not with changes in workplace safety. |
