Fatal Occupational Injuries in Cross-National Perspective: Panel Evidence from 46 Countries, 2008–2024
SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.1-14, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 1 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.shaw.2026.08.006
- Dergi Adı: SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), EMBASE, Index Islamicus, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-14
- Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background
Fatal occupational injuries account for over 2.3 million work-related deaths annually worldwide. Turkey has consistently recorded fatal injury rates among the highest in Europe, yet the structural and institutional determinants of this gap have not been examined in a longitudinal cross-national panel framework. This study examines whether economic development, sectoral structure, and informality explain this excess.
Methods
An unbalanced panel of 46 countries (2008–2024) was constructed using ILOSTAT fatal occupational injury statistics, Turkish Social Security Institution (SGK) records, and World Bank covariates. Three two-way fixed-effects models (country-clustered standard errors) estimated the fatal occupational injury rate as a function of GDP per capita, high-risk sector employment share, and agricultural employment share (an informality proxy). A third specification examined labour inspector density.
Results
Turkey's mean fatal injury rate (8.64 per 100,000) was 3.66 times the EU-25 mean (2.36). Under country-clustered standard errors, GDP per capita was negatively associated with fatal injury rates (β = −0.300, p = 0.046) and agricultural employment share was positively associated (β = 0.024, p = 0.028); high-risk sector employment share was not significant.
Conclusion
Turkey's excess fatality rate is not fully explained by income or sectoral structure. The findings are consistent with labour market informality contributing to the residual difference, though direct measures were not significant in sensitivity models. Coefficient signs for GDP and agricultural share held under Driscoll–Kraay standard errors robust to cross-sectional dependence, but significance did not, reflecting the short panel. Strengthening labour inspection and formalisation remains a priority for similar economies.