Alcohol consumption and workplace accidents: An examination of workers' compensation claims rates.
Item
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Title
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Alcohol consumption and workplace accidents: An examination of workers' compensation claims rates.
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Identifier
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AAI9224806
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identifier
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9224806
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Creator
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Durbin, David L.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Linda Edwards
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Economics, General | Economics, Labor
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Abstract
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The workers' compensation program has experienced enormous growth in costs over the past couple of decades. Workers' compensation now costs the United States economy in excess of {dollar}60 billion per year, which exceeds unemployment insurance, social security disability insurance, AFDC or food stamps in total expenditures. Two themes have recurred throughout the history of the program. First, there have been debates over what constitutes a compensable injury, and second, debates have continued over the optimal level of benefits. From a public policy perspective, the focus is on the adequacy and equity of benefits for workers injured on the job without incorporating incentives to over-utilize the system. Currently, public officials are concerned that the high costs of the workers' compensation system may be hindering economic development and are concerned the system may be compensating claims that have not legitimately arisen ``out of, or in the course of employment.'' In this study, I decompose workers' compensation costs into its two primary components and examine the role of worker behavior in the determination of costs. Specifically, I investigate the role of alcohol consumption on workers' compensation costs as well as the impact of the benefit levels on workers' incentives. There has been only limited anecdotal evidence that alcohol contributes significantly to workers' compensation costs. I develop a two-stage model to explain both the determinants of alcohol consumption and the probability of a workplace accident. The data used in this analysis comprises one of the most extensive data sets constructed concerning workers' compensation costs. Data have been gathered for 27 states from 1964 through 1984. The analysis indicates that alcohol consumption indeed contributes significantly to the cost of workers' compensation, and that a 10 percent decrease in alcohol consumption would decrease workers' compensation costs by as much as {dollar}2.4 billion per year.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
