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Longitudinal Patterns of Compliance with OSHA Health and Safety Regulations in the Manufacturing Sector

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  • Wayne B. Gray
  • Carol Adaire Jones

Abstract

We examine the impact of OSHA enforcement on company compliance with agency regulations in the manufacturing sector, with a unique plant-level data set of inspection and compliance behavior during 1972-1983, the first twelve years of the agency operation. The analysis suggests that, for an individual inspected plant, the average effect of OSHA inspections during this period was to reduce expected citations by 3.0 or by .36 s.d. The total effect on expected citations of additional inspections can be decomposed into two parts; evaluated at the mean of the sample, 59 percent of the total change in citations occurred due to an increase in the compliance rate; 41 percent was due to a reduction in citations among continuing violators.

Suggested Citation

  • Wayne B. Gray & Carol Adaire Jones, 1989. "Longitudinal Patterns of Compliance with OSHA Health and Safety Regulations in the Manufacturing Sector," NBER Working Papers 3213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3213
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert Stewart Smith, 1979. "The Impact of OSHA Inspections on Manufacturing Injury Rates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(2), pages 145-170.
    2. McDonald, John F & Moffitt, Robert A, 1980. "The Uses of Tobit Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 62(2), pages 318-321, May.
    3. Louise B. Russell, 1974. "Safety Incentives in Workmen's Compensation Insurance," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 9(3), pages 361-375.
    4. W. Kip Viscusi, 1986. "The Impact of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation, 1973-1983," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(4), pages 567-580, Winter.
    5. W. Kip Viscusi, 1979. "The Impact of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 117-140, Spring.
    6. Wayne Gray & John T. Scholz, 1989. "A Behavioral Approach to Compliance: OSHA Enforcement's Impact on Workplace Accidents," NBER Working Papers 2813, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Greene, William H, 1981. "On the Asymptotic Bias of the Ordinary Least Squares Estimator of the Tobit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(2), pages 505-513, March.
    8. Bartel, Ann P & Thomas, Lacy Glenn, 1985. "Direct and Indirect Effects of Regulation: A New Look at OSHA's Impact," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, April.
    9. David P. McCaffrey, 1983. "An Assessment of Osha's Recent Effects on Injury Rates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 18(1), pages 131-146.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gray, Wayne B & Jones, Carol Adaire, 1991. "Are OSHA Health Inspections Effective? A Longitudinal Study in the Manufacturing Sector," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(3), pages 504-508, August.
    2. Wayne B. Gray & John T. Scholz, 1991. "Do OSHA Inspections Reduce Injuries? A Panel Analysis," NBER Working Papers 3774, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Anja Bondebjerg & Trine Filges & Jan Hyld Pejtersen & Malene Wallach Kildemoes & Hermann Burr & Peter Hasle & Emile Tompa & Elizabeth Bengtsen, 2023. "Occupational health and safety regulatory interventions to improve the work environment: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), December.

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