Occupational accidents and the economic cycle in Spain 1994-2014

Our results show a strong association between the economic cycle and occupational accidents in Spain. The recent economic crisis led to a strong reduction in the incidence rate, which accelerated a decrease that began in 2001. With the economic recovery beginning in 2014 the incidence rate has gone up again. This evidence indicates that economic growth in Spain comes at the cost of a high level of occupational accidents, showing the weakness of its prevention system. Moreover, the growth in the number of accidents tends to concentrate in certain sectors, and is more due to an increase in their incidence rate than to the growth in their workforce. Firms in these sectors have also implemented prevention practices less intensely than the firms in other sectors.