Occupational Safety and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean: Overview, Issues and Policy Recommendations.

This policy brief addresses safety and security in the workplace in Latin America and the Caribbean. Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) issues have received little attention in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the widespread, and culturally rooted, lack of awareness regarding the importance of a safe and healthy work environment, and to the weakness of the institutions responsible for the promotion and enforcement of better working conditions. Work-generated illnesses, injuries and deaths are often seen as an unintended consequence, a negative externality, of the production process. This paper will present and discuss in detail the dimension of the occupational safety and health problem in the region. The next section analyzes the specific characteristics of Latin American and Caribbean economies and institutions that determine the high exposure to occupational hazards faced by the workers of the region. As discussed in the final section of this paper, there are several non-mutually exclusive policy mechanisms and instruments that can be implemented to deal with occupational safety and health problems.

Seguridad y salud en el trabajo en América Latina y el Caribe: Análisis, temas y recomendaciones de política

En este documento se discute el tema de la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo en América Latina y el Caribe. Abordar esta problemática es una tarea sumamente compleja que requiere tratar las responsabilidades que se superponen entre los ministerios de trabajo y salud y entre aseguradores privados e institutos de seguridad social. Requiere también la participación de asociaciones empresariales y sindicatos de trabajadores, negociadores de comercio internacional y expertos en medio ambiente. Además se necesita tomar decisiones con consecuencias distributivas y sanitarias importantes. Afortunadamente, como se trata en la sección final de este documento, hay varios mecanismos e instrumentos normativos que no se excluyen unos a otros y que pueden implantarse para abordar los temas de salud en el trabajo.

III - Impacto econômico das causas externas no Brasil: um esforço de mensuração

The study seeks to make a first estimate of the economic impact of lesions and poisonings in Brazil, measured in terms of hospital expenses on internments - in days of general permanence and in Intensive Care Units. Internments is hospital under contracts with the United Health System are analysed by means of the AIH - Authorization for Hospital Internment. These internments involve expenses per annum corresponding to approximately 0.07% of the GNP of the country. With regard to mortality, the economic impact has been analysed by the use of the Potential Years of Life Lost indicator. It may be verified that accidents and acts of violence represented about 2.6 million years of life lost in 1981, and 3.4 millions in 1991. The increase was thus of about 30%, even though for the total of data deaths showed a reduction. Despite some limitations, it is possible to estimate the general magnitude of the economic impact of external causes of death. It is hoped that these limitations may serve as a stimulus to new and deeper investigations.Procurou-se obter uma primeira estimativa do impacto econômico das lesões e envenenamentos no Brasil, medido através dos gastos hospitalares com internação - dias de permanência geral e em Unidades de Terapia Intensiva. São analisadas internações em hospitais conveniados com o Sistema Único de Saúde, através das AIH- Autorização de Internação Hospitalar, sendo verificado que essas internações geram um gasto anual, correspondendo a, aproximadamente, 0,07 do Produto Interno Bruto do País. Com relação à mortalidade, o impacto econômico foi analisado por meio do indicador Anos Potenciais de Vida Perdidos. Os acidentes e violências representaram cerca de 2,6 milhões de anos de vida perdidos, em 1981, e 3,4 milhões, em 1991. O aumento verificado foi cerca de 30%, enquanto que para o conjunto de dados os óbitos apresentaram-se em queda. Apesar de algumas limitações, é possível estimar a dimensão geral do impacto econômico das causas externas. Espera-se que essas limitações sirvam de estímulo a novas investigações e aprofundamentos

Evaluación del Fondo para Operaciones Especiales durante el Octavo Aumento General de Recursos (1994-2010): Parte I

El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo es una institución singular entre los bancos multilaterales, pues ha otorgado financiamiento concesional a sus países miembros desde el inicio de sus actividades por conducto del Fondo para Operaciones Especiales (FOE), creado en virtud del Convenio Constitutivo del Banco, de 1959. Esta evaluación tiene por objeto presentar al Directorio Ejecutivo, en momentos en que el BID está emprendiendo un nuevo aumento de su capital, un análisis del desempeño del instrumento de financiamiento concesional del Banco, a saber,el programa de préstamos del FOE durante el período del Octavo Aumento (1994-2010). Por ello, no se analiza la Facilidad de Financiamiento Intermedio (FFI) ni las operaciones de cooperación técnica no reembolsable financiadas con recursos del FOE. Se trata de un ejercicio oportuno, pues los aumentos del capital del Banco representan ocasiones críticas para reponer el Fondo. La naturaleza concesional del FOE (tasas de interés más bajas y plazos de amortización más prolongados) implica que sus recursos no se pueden obtener en los mercados de capital, sino que deben provenir (en su mayoría) de las contribuciones de los países miembros y del ingreso que pueden generar sus préstamos, es decir, de la liquidez de las inversiones y de los intereses percibidos. Esta evaluación se compone de dos documentos que, habida cuenta de su contenido y extensión, se presentan por separado. En este primer documento se evaluarán asuntos relacionadas con la asignación, aprobación y ejecución de los recursos del FOE. En el segundo documento se analizarán los resultados financieros y de desarrollo.

Occupational Safety and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean: Overview, Issues and Policy Recommendations.

This policy brief addresses safety and security in the workplace in Latin America and the Caribbean. Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) issues have received little attention in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the widespread, and culturally rooted, lack of awareness regarding the importance of a safe and healthy work environment, and to the weakness of the institutions responsible for the promotion and enforcement of better working conditions. Work-generated illnesses, injuries and deaths are often seen as an unintended consequence, a negative externality, of the production process. This paper will present and discuss in detail the dimension of the occupational safety and health problem in the region. The next section analyzes the specific characteristics of Latin American and Caribbean economies and institutions that determine the high exposure to occupational hazards faced by the workers of the region. As discussed in the final section of this paper, there are several non-mutually exclusive policy mechanisms and instruments that can be implemented to deal with occupational safety and health problems.Labor Policy, Health, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), Occupational Safety and Health, Latin America and the Caribbean

III - Impacto econômico das causas externas no Brasil: um esforço de mensuração III - Economic impact of external causes in Brazil: an attempt at measurement

Procurou-se obter uma primeira estimativa do impacto econômico das lesões e envenenamentos no Brasil, medido através dos gastos hospitalares com internação - dias de permanência geral e em Unidades de Terapia Intensiva. São analisadas internações em hospitais conveniados com o Sistema Único de Saúde, através das AIH- Autorização de Internação Hospitalar, sendo verificado que essas internações geram um gasto anual, correspondendo a, aproximadamente, 0,07 do Produto Interno Bruto do País. Com relação à mortalidade, o impacto econômico foi analisado por meio do indicador Anos Potenciais de Vida Perdidos. Os acidentes e violências representaram cerca de 2,6 milhões de anos de vida perdidos, em 1981, e 3,4 milhões, em 1991. O aumento verificado foi cerca de 30%, enquanto que para o conjunto de dados os óbitos apresentaram-se em queda. Apesar de algumas limitações, é possível estimar a dimensão geral do impacto econômico das causas externas. Espera-se que essas limitações sirvam de estímulo a novas investigações e aprofundamentos.<br>The study seeks to make a first estimate of the economic impact of lesions and poisonings in Brazil, measured in terms of hospital expenses on internments - in days of general permanence and in Intensive Care Units. Internments is hospital under contracts with the United Health System are analysed by means of the AIH - Authorization for Hospital Internment. These internments involve expenses per annum corresponding to approximately 0.07% of the GNP of the country. With regard to mortality, the economic impact has been analysed by the use of the Potential Years of Life Lost indicator. It may be verified that accidents and acts of violence represented about 2.6 million years of life lost in 1981, and 3.4 millions in 1991. The increase was thus of about 30%, even though for the total of data deaths showed a reduction. Despite some limitations, it is possible to estimate the general magnitude of the economic impact of external causes of death. It is hoped that these limitations may serve as a stimulus to new and deeper investigations

Workers' Health in Latin America: An Econometric Analysis of Work-Related Injuries

Occupational health is increasingly recognized as an important public health issue in Latin American and the Caribbean. One major concern is the absence of reliable data on its magnitude and economic consequences. The first part of the paper presents the official statistics on workplace injuries, which suggest that workers in the Region are exposed to occupational risks that are significantly higher than in established market economies. In the empirical part of the paper, we analyze health risk associated with occupational hazard in Mexico. This analysis sheds light on the relationships between the likelihood of reporting work-related impairment, characteristics of the workers, type of occupation and contractual relationship.

Economic and Health Effects of Occupational Hazards in Latin America and the Caribbean

This study describes the health dimension and some economic aspects of occupational safety in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study is the result of a joint effort by the IDB's Region 3 and Sustainable Development Departments which was undertaken to identify the major trends and issues related to improving occupational safety in Latin America and the Caribbean. It shows that the region has a very high disease burden in this area, and that economic patterns of employment and public regulatory responses make these health problems more acute than in Europe or North America. The paper was discussed at an IDB conference entitled "International Conference on Occupational Safety and Health" in June 2000, and served to draw attention to these important issues. The study provides a firm grounding from which to address the dearth of policies in occupational safety, and it will help guide future IDB activities in this sector. It represents one modest step along the way to a future of safer working conditions and better health in the region.

Health and Poverty in Brazil: Estimation by Structural Equation Model with Latent Variables

Brazil is characterized by large inequalities in income, access to health care, and health status. This paper uses data from the 1998 Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios to analyze the complex relationships among health, income, health insurance and health care utilization to gain a better understanding of the various factors determining differences in the health of the population, especially between the poor and non-poor. The authors use a structural equation model in which health, wealth and access to health care are specified as latent variables.