Assessing OSHA performance: New evidence from the construction industry

The determinants of OSHA performance can be examined by breaking the regula tory process into three elements relating to enforcement, compliance behavi or, and the adequacy of standards in addressing safety outcomes. This paper develops and applies this framework to the U.S. construction industry duri ng the period 1987 to 1993. Enforcement activity among the firms in the sam ple was substantial, with firms facing a high probability, of annual inspec tion. But, despite this significant enforcement effort, inspections have a modest effect on firm compliance with OSHA standards. Finally, the health a nd safety standards cited most frequently diverge from the major sources of fatalities and injuries on construction projects. These results suggest th at historic enforcement policies toward construction make less sense as OSH A moves into its fourth decade of operation. More generally, the paper illu strates the problem of focusing enforcement resources on large, high-profil e companies even though they often are not the major source of regulatory p roblems in an established area of public policy, intervention. (C) 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.