Economic situation and occupational accidents in Poland: 2002–2014 panel data regional study
Objectives Occupational accidents constitute a substantial health and economic burden for societies around the world and a variety of factors determine the frequency of accidents at work. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the economic situation and the rate of occupati...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine
2018-11-01
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Series: | International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health |
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Online Access: | http://www.journalssystem.com/ijomeh/Economic-situation-and-occupational-accidents-in-Poland-a-panel-data-regional-study-2002-14,67525,0,2.html |
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author | Błażej Łyszczarz Ewelina Nojszewska |
author_facet | Błażej Łyszczarz Ewelina Nojszewska |
author_sort | Błażej Łyszczarz |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Objectives
Occupational accidents constitute a substantial health and economic burden for societies around the world and
a variety of factors determine the frequency of accidents at work. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship
between the economic situation and the rate of occupational accidents in Poland.
Material and Methods
The analysis comprised
data for 66 Polish sub-regions taken from the Central Statistical Office’s Local Data Bank. The regression analysis
with panel data for period 2002–2014 was applied to identify the relationships involved. Four measures of accidents were
used: the rates of total occupational accidents, accidents among men and women separately as well as days of incapacity to
work due to accidents at work per employee. Four alternative measures assessed the economic situation: gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita, average remuneration, the unemployment rate and number of dwelling permits. The confounding
variables included were: employment in hazardous conditions and the size of enterprises.
Results
The results of the
regression estimates show that the number of occupational accidents in Poland exhibits procyclical behavior, which means
that more accidents are observed during the times of economic expansion. Stronger relationships were observed in the
equations explaining men’s accident rates as well as total rates. A weaker and not always statistically significant impact of
economic situation was identified for women’s accident rates and days of incapacity to work.
Conclusions
The results have
important implications for occupational health and safety actions. In the periods of higher work intensity employers should
focus on appropriate training and supervision of inexperienced workers as well as on ensuring enough time for already
experienced employees to recuperate. In terms of public health actions, policy makers should focus on scrutinizing working
conditions, educating employers and counteracting possible discrimination of injured employees. Int J Occup Med Environ
Health 2018;31(2):151–164 |
first_indexed | 2024-12-20T10:17:44Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-91671b897331475ca635ba7895d0b7ff |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1232-1087 1896-494X |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-20T10:17:44Z |
publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
publisher | Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine |
record_format | Article |
series | International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health |
spelling | doaj.art-91671b897331475ca635ba7895d0b7ff2022-12-21T19:44:00ZengNofer Institute of Occupational MedicineInternational Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health1232-10871896-494X2018-11-0131215116410.13075/ijomeh.1896.0109367525Economic situation and occupational accidents in Poland: 2002–2014 panel data regional studyBłażej Łyszczarz0Ewelina Nojszewska1Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, Poland (Department of Public Health)Warsaw School of Economics, Warszawa, Poland (Department of Applied Economics, Collegium of Management and Finance)Objectives Occupational accidents constitute a substantial health and economic burden for societies around the world and a variety of factors determine the frequency of accidents at work. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the economic situation and the rate of occupational accidents in Poland. Material and Methods The analysis comprised data for 66 Polish sub-regions taken from the Central Statistical Office’s Local Data Bank. The regression analysis with panel data for period 2002–2014 was applied to identify the relationships involved. Four measures of accidents were used: the rates of total occupational accidents, accidents among men and women separately as well as days of incapacity to work due to accidents at work per employee. Four alternative measures assessed the economic situation: gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, average remuneration, the unemployment rate and number of dwelling permits. The confounding variables included were: employment in hazardous conditions and the size of enterprises. Results The results of the regression estimates show that the number of occupational accidents in Poland exhibits procyclical behavior, which means that more accidents are observed during the times of economic expansion. Stronger relationships were observed in the equations explaining men’s accident rates as well as total rates. A weaker and not always statistically significant impact of economic situation was identified for women’s accident rates and days of incapacity to work. Conclusions The results have important implications for occupational health and safety actions. In the periods of higher work intensity employers should focus on appropriate training and supervision of inexperienced workers as well as on ensuring enough time for already experienced employees to recuperate. In terms of public health actions, policy makers should focus on scrutinizing working conditions, educating employers and counteracting possible discrimination of injured employees. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(2):151–164http://www.journalssystem.com/ijomeh/Economic-situation-and-occupational-accidents-in-Poland-a-panel-data-regional-study-2002-14,67525,0,2.htmloccupational hazardsoccupational health and safetygender differencesaccident at workbusiness cyclepanel data model |
spellingShingle | Błażej Łyszczarz Ewelina Nojszewska Economic situation and occupational accidents in Poland: 2002–2014 panel data regional study International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health occupational hazards occupational health and safety gender differences accident at work business cycle panel data model |
title | Economic situation
and occupational accidents in Poland:
2002–2014 panel data regional study |
title_full | Economic situation
and occupational accidents in Poland:
2002–2014 panel data regional study |
title_fullStr | Economic situation
and occupational accidents in Poland:
2002–2014 panel data regional study |
title_full_unstemmed | Economic situation
and occupational accidents in Poland:
2002–2014 panel data regional study |
title_short | Economic situation
and occupational accidents in Poland:
2002–2014 panel data regional study |
title_sort | economic situation and occupational accidents in poland 2002 2014 panel data regional study |
topic | occupational hazards occupational health and safety gender differences accident at work business cycle panel data model |
url | http://www.journalssystem.com/ijomeh/Economic-situation-and-occupational-accidents-in-Poland-a-panel-data-regional-study-2002-14,67525,0,2.html |
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