SOCIETÀ ITALIANA DI DIRITTO ED ECONOMIA
Alessia Marrocco (Sapienza University of Rome)
Angelo Castaldo (Sapienza University of Rome)
Maria Alessandra Antonelli (Sapienza University of Rome)
Abstract
The aim of the paper is twofold. First, this work investigates workplace accidents in Italy at the provincial (NUTS 3) level by accounting for business cycle, productive system, workforce demography, and institutional variables. Second, we test the underreporting hypothesis, examining the case that rates of minor injury can be explained by both working conditions and the willingness of workers to report injuries.
Among our main findings, the analysis shows that, at Italian provincial level, business cycle (unemployment, added value, and rate of change of investment/GDP) strongly affect the pattern of workplace accident. Moreover, the results show statistically significant relations between productive system (firms’ size, territorial sectoral structure, workforce’ skill composition), workforce demography characteristics (gender and age), institutional variables (non-regular employed and compliance to the legal norm index) and the accident phenomenon alternatively defined with different indicators.
Therefore, the analysis seemingly confirms the complexity of the phenomenon, which should also be considered for possible policy interventions. In addition, our analysis suggests that, especially in economic downturns, selective public policies geared toward supporting occupational safety and health investment should be a complementary tool to conventional policy options (rule enforcement and training). Finally, the results also indicate that policies should focus on the most vulnerable workforce, such as low-paid, low-skilled, precarious, and young workers, and on their fair reporting of injuries to avoid inconsistent reporting over the business cycle.