True burden of drowning: compiling data to meet the new definition

The objective and aim of the study was to compile empirical data to quantify the underestimation of the true burden of drowning and to compare drowning rates using commonly reported codes compared with those revealed by use of the full range of drowning codes in ICD version 10. The authors reviewed mortality data (1999-2002) from Australia and the USA and compiled data to compare the burden of 'unintentional drowning' with that of 'all drowning'. In both Australia and the USA, drowning mortality is more than 35% higher when a full range of codes is examined. A more comprehensive representation of the drowning problem is needed to assist in strengthening prevention activities.     

Safety programmes in the Egyptian construction industry

This study is aimed at exploring the nature of the safety programmes applied by large-size contractors operating in Egypt. Results revealed that safety programmes applied by those contractors were less formal than the programmes applied by their American counterparts. Only three contractors out of the surveyed sample had accident records broken down by projects, provided workers with formal safety orientation, and trained safety personnel on first-aid. The study recommended that reforms to the scheme of the employers' contribution to social insurance are necessary. This is meant to serve as a strong incentive for safety management.     

The perverse effect of environmental regulation on emissions: The role of product-mix changes

We study the effect of environmental regulation (taxation) on emissions when the only available abatement method consists of product-mix changes. Firms choose to produce one or both varieties of a product—a pollution-intensive (dirty) and a non-pollution-intensive (green)—and compete in a differentiated Cournot duopoly. We characterize the equilibrium market structure as a function of the tax rate and show that increases in the tax can promote product-mix changes that lead to a jump in emissions for some tax range, an effect we call the perverse effect of taxation. Our work emphasizes the key role horizontal product differentiation in this process and shows that the perverse effect does not require the presence of vertical product differentiation. Further, the perverse effect of taxation is especially strong in the presence of incomplete regulation, that is, when only one of the markets is subject to taxation.