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Temperature, Workplace Safety, and Labor Market Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Park, R. Jisung

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

  • 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:

    1. Mattia Filomena & Matteo Picchio, 2022. "Unsafe Temperatures, Unsafe Jobs: The Impact Of Ambient Temperatures On Work Related Injuries," Working Papers 472, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    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. Matteo Picchio & Jan van Ours, 2023. "The impact of high temperatures on performance in work-related activities," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 23-052/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    4. Till Baldenius & Nicolas Koch & Hannah Klauber & Nadja Klein, 2023. "Heat increases experienced racial segregation in the United States," Papers 2306.13772, arXiv.org.
    5. 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.
    6. David Molitor & Corey D. White, 2023. "Do Cities Mitigate or Exacerbate Environmental Damages to Health?," NBER Working Papers 31990, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Jason Sockin, 2022. "Show Me the Amenity: Are Higher-Paying Firms Better All Around?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9842, CESifo.
    8. Beatty, Timothy & Lee, Goeun, 2023. "Wildfires and Farmworker Health," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335461, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. 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.

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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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