SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance
No 465:
Causal effects of Economic Incentives on Absence from Work: A Duration Analysis Using Fixed Effects
Göran Broström, Per Johansson ()
and Mårten Palme ()
Abstract: The incidence and duration of work-absence spells for a
sample of Swedish blue-collar workers in 1990 and 1991 are analyzed using
the Kaplan-Meier non-parametric estimator, discrete-time hazard regression
as well as stratified Cox regression. We focus on the effect of economic
incentives, i.e., costs associated with absence from work and individual
income, as well as gender differences in work absence behavior. In this
context we analyze the effect of a reform of the compulsory sickness
insurance scheme, i.e., a decrease in the replacement level, that took
place in Sweden in March 1991. Special attention is devoted to gender
differences in work-absence behavior. We find that it is important to
consider unobserved heterogeneity and state dependence in the estimations.
The results also show that economic incentives seem to matter for the
incidence of work-absence. Gender differences in the way economic
incentives affect work-absence behavior, rather than differences in the
measured variables, appear to be the predominant factor in explaining the
higher work-absence rate of females.
Keywords: Discrete time Cox regression; Sickness insurance; Stratified Cox Regression; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: C41; J22; (follow links to similar papers)
50 pages, October 15, 2001, Revised June 2002
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