Heat and Worker Health

Andrew Ireland, David Johnston and Rachel Knott

Papers from arXiv.org

Abstract: Extreme heat negatively impacts cognition, learning, and task performance. With increasing global temperatures, workers may therefore be at increased risk of work-related injuries and illness. This study estimates the effects of temperature on worker health using records spanning 1985-2020 from an Australian mandatory insurance scheme. High temperatures are found to cause significantly more claims, particularly among manual workers in outdoor-based industries. These adverse effects have not diminished across time, with the largest effect observed for the 2015-2020 period, indicating increasing vulnerability to heat. Within occupations, the workers most adversely affected by heat are female, older-aged and higher-earning. Finally, results from firm-level panel analyses show that the percentage increase in claims on hot days is largest at "safer" firms.

Date: 2023-01, Revised 2023-06
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Published in 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102800

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:arx:papers:2301.11554

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