Journal of the Korean Society of Safety (한국안전학회지)

The Korean Society of Safety (한국안전학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Analysis of Business Cycle Factors and Occupational Accidents in Construction Industry

건설업 산업재해 발생의 경기적 요인 분석 연구

  • Myungjoong, Kim (Safety & Health Policy Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute) ;
  • Sunyoung, Park (Safety & Health Policy Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute)
  • 김명중 (산업안전보건연구원 정책제도연구부) ;
  • 박선영 (산업안전보건연구원 정책제도연구부)
  • Received : 2022.08.17
  • Accepted : 2022.10.06
  • Published : 2022.12.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This study analyzed the relationship between occupational accidents in the construction industry and business cycle factors. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to achieve the research purpose; additionally, time-varying parameter estimations were performed to interpret the results. The results obtained for the construction industry revealed a statistically significant relationship between occupational accidents and wage increase rate, unemployment, construction starts, and other factors. The wage increase rate plays a role in reducing occupational accidents because efforts are made to prevent accidents owing to the increase in income loss due to accidents and the demand for increased safety levels. The number of construction starts affects occupational accidents with a time lag of 1 to 2 or 4 months; therefore, it is likely to be used as a leading indicator for estimating fatal accidents in the construction industry. This study highlighted the importance of monitoring socioeconomic changes that could affect the working conditions of workers and workplaces, and production activities in the workplace for the effective prevention of occupational accidents. This study also reveals the necessity of developing a method to operate prevention projects flexibly and the seasonality of industrial characteristics, particularly those of the construction industry where the highest number of fatal occupational injuries occur.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute Research Fund, 2021.

References

  1. J. Lee, J. S. Lim and J. Park, "An Influence of Industrial Accident on Industrial Productivity in Korea", J. Korean Soc. Saf., Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 50-55, 2021.
  2. M. D. Kossoris, "Industrial Injuries and the Business Cycle", Monthly Lab., Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 579-594, 1938.
  3. B. Fabiano, I. Parentini, A. Ferraiolo and R. Pastorino, "A Century of Accidents in the Italian Industry: Relationship with the Production Cycle", Safety Science, Vol. 21, Issue 1, pp. 65-74, 1995. https://doi.org/10.1016/0925-7535(95)00043-7
  4. D. Fairris, "Institutional Change in Shop floor Governance and the Trajectory of Postwar Injury Rates in U.S. Manufacturing, 1946-1970", Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 51, Issue 2, pp. 187-203, 1998.
  5. J. Boone and J. C. Van Ours, "Are Recessions Good for Workplace Safety", J. of Health Economics, Vol. 25, Issue 6, pp. 1069-1093, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2006.03.002
  6. R. Davies, P. Jones and I. Nunez, "The Impact of the Business Cycle on Occupational Injuries in the UK", Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 178-182, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.04.033
  7. A, Asfaw, R. Pana-Cryan and R. Rosa, "The Business Cycle and the Incidence of Workplace Injuries: Evidence from the U.S.A", J. of Safety Research, Vol. 42, Issue 1, pp. 1-8, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2010.10.008
  8. J. Boone, J. C. van Ours, J. P. Wuellrich and J. Zweimuller, "Recessions are Bad for Workplace Safety", J. of Health Economics, Vol. 30, Issue 4, pp. 764-773, 2011.
  9. X. S. Dong, S. D. Choi, J. G. Borchardt, X. Wang and J. A. Largay, "Fatal Falls from Roofs among US Construction Workers", J. of Safety Research, Vol. 44, pp. 17-24, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2012.08.024
  10. D. S. Chang and Y. C. Tsai, "Investigating the Long-term Change of Injury Pattern on Severity, Accident Types and Sources of Injury in Taiwan's Manufacturing Sector between 1996 and 2012", Safety Science, Vol. 68, pp. 231-242, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.04.005
  11. B. Fernandez-Muniz, J. Manuel Montes-Peon and C. Jose Vazquez-Ordas, "Occupational accidents and the Economic Cycle in Spain 1994-2014", Safety Science, Vol. 106, pp. 273-284, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.02.029
  12. E. Farina, M. Giraudo, G. Costa and A. Bena, "Injury Rates and Economic Cycles in the Italian Manufacturing Sector", Occupational Medicine, Vol. 68, Issue 7, pp. 459-463, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqy102
  13. G. H. Choi, "Text-mining based Cause Analysis of Accidents at Workplaces in Korea", J. Korean Soc. Saf., Vol. 37, No. 3. pp. 9-15, 2022.
  14. D. K. Kim and S. Park, "Business Cycle and Occupational Accidents in Korea", Saf. and Health at Work, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pp. 314-321, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2020.05.002
  15. D. K. Kim and S. Park, "Analysis of Business Cycle Influencing the Quarterly Occupational Accidents in Korea", J. of CEO and Management Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 269-287, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37674/CEOMS.24.1.14
  16. D. A. Dickey, W. A. Fuller, "Distribution of the Estimators for Autoregressive Time Series With a Unit Root", J. of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 74, No. 366, pp. 427-431, 1979.
  17. Statistics Korea, accessed July, 29, 2021, https://kostat.go.kr/
  18. Bank of Korea, accessed July, 29, 2021, https://ecos.bok.or.kr/
  19. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, accessed July, 29, 2021, https://stat.molit.go.kr/portal/main/portalMain.do