Do Strikes Kill? Evidence from New York State

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gruber, Jonathan; Kleiner, Samuel A.
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); National Bureau of Economic Research; Cornell University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.4.1.127
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 127-157
• 关键词: regional-variations; QUALITY; nurses; IMPACT; care; PRODUCTIVITY; outcomes; struck; UNION

摘要

Hospitals now represent one of the largest union sectors of the US economy, and there is particular concern about the impact of strikes on patient welfare. We analyze the effects of nurses' strikes in hospitals on patient outcomes in New York State. Controlling for hospital specific heterogeneity, the results show that nurses' strikes increase in-hospital mortality by 18.3 percent and 30-day readmission by 5.7 percent for patients admitted during a strike, with little change in patient demographics, disease severity or treatment intensity. The results suggest that hospitals functioning during nurses' strikes do so at a lower quality of patient care. (JEL H75, I11, I12, J52)