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Adapting to Radical Innovation: Accident Compensation in New Zealand
Author(s) -
Uttley Stephen
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
review of policy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1541-1338
pISSN - 1541-132X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-1338.1993.tb00514.x
Subject(s) - compensation (psychology) , accidental , payment , dilemma , accident (philosophy) , industrial accident , revenue , politics , actuarial science , scheme (mathematics) , business , public economics , economics , law and economics , political science , finance , law , psychology , social psychology , medicine , mathematical analysis , philosophy , physics , mathematics , environmental health , epistemology , acoustics
This paper profiles the 1974 introduction of a new system for compensating individuals who suffer accidental injuries in New Zealand. It reviews the development of this scheme through the late 1980s and highlights the increase of political pressures for subsequent reform. Among the various difficulties identified in implementation are the operation of the “no fault” principle, the effect of the duration of disability, the payment of lump‐sum compensation and the question of indexing payments. Disputes about the detailed funding of the scheme and politically inspired changes in the revenue base are explained. The major dilemma posed by different levels of compensation for those disabled by accident or sickness is examined. The paper concludes by querying whether the identified problems are a reflection of weaknesses in the original scheme or a result of less‐than‐full implementation.