Understanding the operational logic of target assessment is crucial for enhancing work safety practices. Despite the widely recognized effectiveness of work safety target assessments, their operational mechanisms have not been thoroughly explored and lack empirical substantiation. This paper begins with an examination of the foundational principles of target assessment design, proposing that control and competition serve as the explanatory framework for governing the logic behind work safety target assessment quotas. Based on data from work safety quotas across 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in mainland China, and complemented by macroeconomic data and individual characteristics of party and government leaders, this study concludes that target assessments structured around quotas control and competition substantially enhance the governance effectiveness of work safety. The interaction between control and competition in quotas management yields a notable substitution effect. The results of heterogeneity analysis indicate that political cycles and officials in critical promotion periods enhance the positive impact of quotas competition on the effectiveness of work safety governance. However, their influence on the relationship between governance control and work safety effectiveness is comparatively limited. Meanwhile, the method of underground coal mining amplifies the beneficial impacts of quotas control and competition on the effectiveness of work safety governance. This paper extends the theoretical framework of target assessment operations through the lens of quotas governance and offers empirical evidence supporting the governance logic of work safety target assessment quotas.

理解目标考核的运行逻辑对于安全生产实践具有重要意义。当前,安全生产目标考核的有效性已经得到广泛认可,但其运行逻辑尚未得到有效发掘,也缺乏经验证据的支持。本文从目标考核设计的基础出发,认为控制与竞争构成了安全生产目标考核指标治理逻辑的解释框架。本文收集了中国31个省 (自治区、直辖市)安全生产控制指标数据,并匹配宏观经济数据和党政 “一把手”的个体特征数据,发现基于指标控制和指标竞争的目标考核显著改善了安全生产治理效果;指标控制对指标竞争的影响产生替代效应。异质性分析结果显示,政治周期和官员处于关键晋升期强化了指标竞争对安全生产治理效果的积极效应,但对指标控制与安全生产治理效果关系的影响相对有限。同时,地下采煤方式强化了指标控制和指标竞争对安全生产治理效果的积极效应。本文从指标治理的角度拓展了关于目标考核运行的理论解释,并提供了安全生产目标考核指标治理逻辑的经验证据。