A team of researchers led by Adam Olson, PhD, associate professor of accounting in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, has discovered a correlation between local nonsmoking laws and greater corporate innovation after analyzing more than 50 years of data.
Using data from the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation and Google's patent database, the team of researchers, comprised of Olson, Christopher G. Yust, PhD, of Texas A&M University, and Brant Christensen, PhD, of Brigham Young University, identified a clear pattern over time.
"When 'stop smoking' laws were implemented, workplace innovations increased. And we can see that by the increasing number and quality of patents," said Olson. "Given that we know workplace tobacco restrictions lead to better employee health, we argue that this is driven by healthier, more productive employees."
