Foxconn, the Apple supplier, has attracted worldwide attention for repeated reports of unsafe working conditions. In May 2011, an explosion at its iPad plant in Chengdu killed three employees. But Foxconn isn’t alone: Media accounts of dangerous working conditions at Chinese industrial facilities abound. Some analysts believe corruption is partly to blame—that many companies use their political relationships to circumvent safety oversight and regulations. New research provides backing for this claim, demonstrating a strong link between worker deaths from accidents and the political connectedness of corporate executives.
A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review.
