Citation

Zaloshnja E, Miller TR, Waehrer GM. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2006; 49(9): 719-727.

Affiliation

Evaluation, Calverton, Maryland, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ajim.20353

PMID

16917828

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Preventing occupational injuries reduces labor and fringe benefit costs to employers. The related savings filter through the economy, impacting its performance. This study is a first attempt to measure the impact of occupational injury reduction on national economic output, gross domestic product, national income, and employment by using an input-output model of the U.S. economy. METHODS: Occupational injury costs by industry for 1993 were used as a baseline for an input-output model, and the impact of the 38% injury rate reduction between 1993 and 2002 was measured. All computations are in year 2000 dollars. RESULTS: Declining occupational injury between 1993 and 2002 increased employment by an estimated 550,000 jobs. The increase in gross domestic product (GDP) was $25.5 billion or 9% of the average annual GDP increase from 1993 to 2002. CONCLUSIONS: These estimates represent the benefits of injury rate reduction but ignore associated prevention costs.

Language: en