Financial Leverage and Employee Death: Evidence from China’s Coalmining Industry
49 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2013 Last revised: 26 Apr 2017
Date Written: April 26, 2017
Abstract
Examining a unique panel dataset of 22,076 firm-year observations for China’s coalmining industry, we find that a firm’s leverage significantly determines its coalmining fatality. We show, specifically, that leverage reduces a firm’s safety investment and, hence, causes more fatalities. Our study draws important implications of financial policy to labor policy and calls for a more corporate-finance-based analysis on the well-being of employees.
Keywords: Leverage, Debt, Capital Structure, Stakeholder Interest, Workplace Safety, Coalmining Accident
JEL Classification: G30, G32, J81
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation