Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk

An Exploratory Analysis

John Mendeloff, Christopher Nelson, Kilkon Ko, Amelia Haviland

ResearchPublished Apr 20, 2006

Over 55 percent of Americans are employed in businesses with fewer than 100 workers. Policymakers have taken action to lessen regulatory burden on small business. However, evidence shows that small establishments-single physical locations-have much higher rates of deaths or serious injuries than do larger establishments. This study examined the relationship between fatality rate and business size, both in terms of establishment size and firm size, from 1992 to 2001. The analysis uses fatality data drawn from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) accident investigation reports and employment data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau. The study found the following: (1) The smallest establishments had the highest fatality rates. (2) Within firms of a given size, fatality risk still declines steadily with larger establishment size, but if one controls for establishment size, firm size has little impact on risk. (3) In small establishments, there is some protective value in being a small firm. (4) Higher fatality rates in small businesses are related to OSHA violations. (5) Electrocutions are slightly more common in small establishments. (6) Fatality rates at small establishments declined slightly over time. (7) Nonmetropolitan location and unionization were both associated with higher establishment fatality rates.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
102 pages
List Price
$20.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2006
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 102
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-3944-6
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/TR371
  • Document Number: TR-371-ICJ

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Mendeloff, John, Christopher Nelson, Kilkon Ko, and Amelia Haviland, Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk: An Exploratory Analysis, RAND Corporation, TR-371-ICJ, 2006. As of September 10, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR371.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Mendeloff, John, Christopher Nelson, Kilkon Ko, and Amelia Haviland, Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk: An Exploratory Analysis. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2006. https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR371.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

The research described in this report was conducted within the RAND Institute for Civil Justice under the auspices of the Kauffman-RAND Center for the Study of Small Business and Regulation. This research was supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

This publication is part of the RAND technical report series. RAND technical reports, products of RAND from 2003 to 2011, presented research findings on a topic limited in scope or intended for a narrow audience; discussions of the methodology employed in research; literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research professionals, and supporting documentation; and preliminary findings. All RAND technical reports were subject to rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.