The American Experience with Occupational Safety and Health Regulation

Abstract

The significant changes in American occupational safety and health policies are now over 10 years old. This paper reviews and integrates the empirical studies on the impact of this regulation. The evidence indicates that government mandated safety standards have had little or no beneficial impact on the workplace. Because of the long term nature of the problems, there is no evidence on the effectiveness of health standards; however several studies indicate such standards are quite inefficient. The workers' compensation system which was hoped to have influenced prevention with its price incentives has yielded mixed results. The introduction of the system appears to have enhanced safety; however higher benefits are associated with higher reported accident rates.