Ian Savage (2004). Trends in transportation employee injuries since economic deregulation. Research in Transportation Economics: Transportation Labor Issues and Regulatory Reform 10(1):11-33.
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This paper investigates whether economic deregulation affected the rate of workplace injuries in the railroad, trucking and commercial aviation industries. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for the period 1973-2001 are used to compare these three industries with the trend for comparable occupations in manufacturing. The railroad industry witnessed declining workplace safety in the years prior to deregulation. The subsequent financial renaissance of the industry led to a very notable improvement. In contrast, employee injury rates in trucking and aviation have remained very stable over the past thirty years, and there is no evidence of any effects associated with deregulation.