Financial Leverage and Employee Death: Evidence from China’s Coalmining Industry

49 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2013 Last revised: 26 Apr 2017

See all articles by Huihua Nie

Huihua Nie

Renmin University of China - School of Economics

Huainan Zhao

Loughborough University - School of Business and Economics

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

Nie, Huihua and Zhao, Huainan, Financial Leverage and Employee Death: Evidence from China’s Coalmining Industry (April 26, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2369185 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2369185

Huihua Nie

Renmin University of China - School of Economics ( email )

59 Zhongguancun St., Haidian
School of Economics, RUC
Beijing, Beijing 100872
China

HOME PAGE: http://www.niehuihua.com

Huainan Zhao (Contact Author)

Loughborough University - School of Business and Economics ( email )

Epinal Way
Leics LE11 3TU
Leicestershire
United Kingdom

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