Government Intervention in Occupational Safety: Lessons from the American and Canadian Experience

Les gouvernements nord-americains jouent essentiellement deux roles dans le domaine de la sante et securite du travail (SST): ils agissent en tant qu'assureurs et en tant que promoteurs de plus hauts niveaux de SST par le biais de systemes 'merite-demerite' et par la reglementation. Les analystes et decideurs publics doivent evaluer l'impact de ces interventions. Les systemes merite-demerite et la reglementation ont-ils contribue a reduire les accidents? Le niveau de compensation verse aux victimes d'accidents est-il adequat? Quels seraient les effets de le changer? Ce texte tente de repondre a ces questions a travers une revue de la litterature nord-americaine sur le sujet. Il s'agit, a notre connaissance, de la premiere revue a couvrir tous les aspects de l'intervention gouvernementale en SST et a s'interesser au nombre croissant d'etudes canadiennes sur le sujet. Nous degageons de cette revue des lecons a retenir pour les decideurs publics tant au point de vue des recherches a poursuivre que de l'orientation des politiques a adopter. /// North American governments play two fundamental roles in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH). First, they act as insurers through the existence of public workers' compensation boards (WCB) and second, they promote safety in the workplace through experience-rating and safety regulation. Policy analysts should be concerned with the actual impact of this intervention. Have experience rating and regulation succeeded in reducing the incidence of accidents? Is the level of compensation provided to accident victims adequate? What would be the effects of changing it? This paper will try to answer these questions through a critical review of the research surrounding the performance of North American OSH authorities in providing insurance and in promoting safety. This is the first review that we are aware of to cover all aspects of government intervention in OSH and to consider the growing body of Canadian literature on this topic. In addition, the paper will discuss different alternatives offered to policy-makers, either from a research or a policy perspective, in light of what has been learned from the existing literature.