Beyond economic figures: Analysis of economic and work safety efficiency in U.S. industries using the by-production approach

Abstract

Introduction: This study evaluates the economic and safety efficiency of U.S. industries during 2003-2018 using a model that considers work accidents as a by-product of economic activity. Method: By employing efficiency techniques rooted in non-parametric methods, namely the by-production approach, the proposed analysis accurately models U.S. industries’ technology as the composition of two sub-technologies: one producing the economic output and a work-accident generating sub-technology. Results: The core findings reveal marked differences in industries’ economic efficiency as well as potential reductions in work accidents. Despite the reported overall fall in work accident rates, it was found that due to the specific characteristics of their operational processes, some industries were consistently more accident prone than others during the 2003-2018 period (agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing). Also, results are in line with the notion that economic production is positively correlated with work accident figures, and this relationship becomes evident in periods of economic slowdown (in our case, from 2008 to 2012) and growth (in our case, during 2003-2007 and 2013-2018). Practical applications: Policy implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.