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Work intensity and worker safety in early twentieth-century coal mining

Why did coal mining remain so dangerous in the early twentieth century? Observers blamed miners for neglecting safety in their haste to load coal, for which they were paid on piece. Using a panel of about 500 coal mines, the elasticity of fatalities with respect to speed or intensity of work is esti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Explorations in economic history 2018-10, Vol.70, p.132-149
Main Author: Boal, William M.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Why did coal mining remain so dangerous in the early twentieth century? Observers blamed miners for neglecting safety in their haste to load coal, for which they were paid on piece. Using a panel of about 500 coal mines, the elasticity of fatalities with respect to speed or intensity of work is estimated to be about one-half, implying a marginal cost of a statistical life to miners of about $400 thousand in 1921 dollars. This likely exceeded their value of a statistical life, so preventing accidents was expensive for miners. However, the union reduced fatalities with little effect on work intensity.
ISSN:0014-4983
1090-2457
DOI:10.1016/j.eeh.2018.08.001