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Can Government Regulate Safety? The Coal Mine Example

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  • Lewis-Beck, Michael S.
  • Alford, John R.

Abstract

With the 1970 passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), federal regulation reached the American workplace. Given the newness of the legislation, any firm conclusion on its effectiveness seems premature. However, there is ample evidence on federal safety regulation of a specific workplace: the coal mine. The federal government has been directly involved in coal mining safety for over 35 years, operating under three major pieces of legislation, enacted in 1941, 1952, and 1969. Opposing opinions regarding the effect of this legislation can be grouped into three categories: radical, reactionary, and reformer. A multiple interrupted time-series analysis indicates that, in fact, the 1941 and 1969 regulations significantly reduced the fatality rate in coal mining. Certain conditions seem related to the effectiveness of this safety legislation: birth order, provisions, enforcement, target population, and goals. The first two conditions would appear to work for the success of the OSHA, the latter three conditions to work against it.

Suggested Citation

  • Lewis-Beck, Michael S. & Alford, John R., 1980. "Can Government Regulate Safety? The Coal Mine Example," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 745-756, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:74:y:1980:i:03:p:745-756_16
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    Cited by:

    1. Anderton Charles H. & Anderton Roxane A., 2021. "The Trade Disruption Hypothesis Fails for State-Sponsored Genocides and Mass Atrocities: Why It Matters," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 27(2), pages 143-168, May.
    2. Abu-Ghunmi, Diana & Corbet, Shaen & Larkin, Charles, 2020. "An international analysis of the economic cost for countries located in crisis zones," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    3. Gautam Gowrisankaran & Charles He & Eric A. Lutz & Jefferey L. Burgess, 2015. "Productivity, Safety, and Regulation in Underground Coal Mining: Evidence from Disasters and Fatalities," NBER Working Papers 21129, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Stephen M. Shellman & Brandon M. Stewart, 2007. "Political Persecution or Economic Deprivation? A Time-Series Analysis of Haitian Exodus, 1990—2004," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 24(2), pages 121-137, April.
    5. Xu, Hangtian & Nakajima, Kentaro, 2016. "Did China's coal mine regulation positively affect economic growth?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 160-168.
    6. Liu, Quanlong & Li, Xinchun & Qiao, Wanguan & Meng, Xianfei & Li, Xiangong & Shi, Tian, 2017. "Analysis of embedded non-safety regulation games in China's two types of coal mines through safety performance disparity, 1980–2014," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 265-271.
    7. Liu, Quanlong & Wang, Jingzhi & Qiu, Zunxiang, 2023. "Data as evidence: Research on the influencing factors and mechanisms of coal mine safety supervision effect in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Wu, Bing & Wang, Jingxin & Qu, Baolin & Qi, Pengyuan & Meng, Yu, 2023. "Development, effectiveness, and deficiency of China's Coal Mine Safety Supervision System," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Abu-Ghunmi, Diana & Larkin, Charles, 2016. "The economic opportunity cost for countries located in crisis zones: Evidence from the Middle East," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 532-542.
    10. Sabrí Çíftçí, 2005. "Treaties, Collective Responses and the Determinants of Aggregate Support for European Integration," European Union Politics, , vol. 6(4), pages 469-492, December.
    11. Garrett E. Moran, 1985. "Regulatory Strategies for Workplace Injury Reduction," Evaluation Review, , vol. 9(1), pages 21-33, February.
    12. Jane Green, 2010. "Points of Intersection between Randomized Experiments and Quasi-Experiments," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 628(1), pages 97-111, March.
    13. Liu, Quanlong & Li, Xinchun & Hassall, Maureen, 2021. "Regulatory regime on coal Mine Safety in China and Australia: Comparative analysis and overall findings," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Thomas J. Kniesner & John D. Leeth, 2004. "Data Mining Mining Data: MSHA Enforcement Efforts, Underground Coal Mine Safety, and New Health Policy Implications," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 83-111, September.

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