Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/207148 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
Economics Working Paper Series No. 19/326
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research, Zurich
Abstract: 
The health and safety of workers are important determinants of their productivity. In manufacturing industries, occupational health and safety (OHS) measures are critical workplace practices for employers to ensure better working conditions for employees, particularly in industries with rampant indoor pollution. This paper studies the impact of investments undertaken by small and medium enterprises in Vietnam in worker health and safety (including in air quality improvements, heat and noise protection as well as in lighting measures) on labor productivity using a production function approach and panel data from 2011-2015. We find that the amount invested by the firm per worker has a significant positive effect on labor productivity. Moreover, our results hold true for both small and large firms, and for firms belonging to different subgroups of industries. Given historically poor working conditions in Vietnam, policy implications relate to the importance of OHS measures and pollution abatement in influencing economic outcomes such as productivity.
Subjects: 
Investments in health
Indoor pollution
Labor productivity
Small and medium enterprises
Vietnam
JEL: 
D83
Q18
Q54
C23
C26
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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