Abstract

This study analyzes the determinants of industrial accidents across 44 four-digit manufacturing industries in Malaysia from 1993 to 2008 through the business cycle and structural approaches. The results of pooled ordinary least square and fixed-effects estimations revealed that industrial accidents in Malaysian manufacturing sector were negatively influenced by firm size and positively influenced by business cycle. Consistent with the findings of previous studies in other countries, the empirical evidence of this study supports the pro-cyclical behavior of injury rates in manufacturing industries towards business cycle. The analysis demonstrates that both structural and cyclical variation effects are important determinants of industrial accidents in Malaysia.

Key words: Industrial accident, cyclical variation, structural characteristics, occupational safety and health act.