Volume 13, Issue 7 (July 2026), Pages: 136-144

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 Original Research Paper

Assessment of the efficiency of occupational safety and health cost allocation: Empirical analysis of work disability dynamics

 Author(s): 

Inara Sarybayeva ¹, Aiman Iskakova ^2, *

 Affiliation(s):

¹Accounting and Analysis Department, Faculty of Economics, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
²Center for Standardization and Labor Rationing, Republican Research Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9450-432X

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.07.013

 Abstract

This study examines the efficiency of occupational safety and health costs and their impact on work disability dynamics. Despite increasing investments in occupational safety, the effectiveness of cost allocation remains insufficiently evaluated, particularly from an accounting and analytical perspective. The study is based on statistical data from medical and social expertise in Kazakhstan for 2020–2025 and financial data from six enterprises in the mining, manufacturing, construction, and transport sectors for 2020–2024. It is assumed that different categories of occupational safety and health costs have different effects on work disability outcomes. A quantitative approach was applied using correlation and linear regression analyses to assess the relationship between cost structure and changes in work disability indicators. The results show a predominantly negative relationship between occupational safety and health costs and work disability levels. The strongest correlations were identified for infrastructure investments (up to −0.57), workplace certification (−0.46), and personal protective equipment-related costs (up to −0.47). Regression results indicate that targeted costs show stronger associations (R² = 0.48) than general costs (R² = 0.21), which show weak and statistically inconsistent relationships. The findings indicate that the efficiency of occupational safety and health costs depends not only on their total volume but also on their structure and allocation. The study contributes to accounting and auditing by providing an empirical approach for evaluating cost efficiency and supporting evidence-based resource allocation decisions.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Occupational safety, Cost efficiency, Cost allocation, Regression analysis, Work disability

 Article history

Received 26 March 2026, Received in revised form 12 July 2026, Accepted 20 July 2026

 Funding

This research was supported by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan under Grant No. AP19680581. 

 Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge the support of the Republican Research Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan during the implementation of the project. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Citation:

Sarybayeva I and Iskakova A (2026). Assessment of the efficiency of occupational safety and health cost allocation: Empirical analysis of work disability dynamics. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(7): 136-144

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