Improving Health and Safety in the Informal Sector: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Bangladesh

Asadul Islam (), Wang-Sheng Lee, Margaret Triyana () and Xing Xia
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Asadul Islam: Monash University
Margaret Triyana: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

No 16150, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Workers in small businesses in low- and middle-income countries are exposed to significant risks of occupational accidents and illnesses. A safe and healthy workplace could improve the productivity and sustainability of the business. In this paper, we conduct a randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh that provides informal firms with information on occupational health and safety (OHS) to improve their workplace practices. The intervention comprised two treatment arms: one focused solely on OHS training (the OHS arm), while the other offered business training and access to financing in addition to OHS training (the OHS+Biz arm). After two years, treated firms showed improvements in business practices, particularly those related to safety and a decent work environment. Moreover, both treatment arms experienced increased output and sales revenue. The OHS+Biz arm generally had no additional impact on firm outcomes compared to the OHS arm, suggesting that OHS information is the primary factor driving safer and healthier workplaces, which consequently can lead to better firm outcomes.

Keywords: occupational health and safety; enterprise training; randomized controlled trial; informal economy; information; credit access (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 I15 J24 J28 J81 M53 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79 pages
Date: 2023-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-exp, nep-hea, nep-iue and nep-lma
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