Spillovers from gatekeeping - Peer effects in absenteeism

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Godoy, Anna; Dale-Olsen, Harald
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.08.015
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 190-204
• 关键词: Sickness absence; Social interaction; General practitioners; Co-workers; panel data

摘要

We study peer effects in absenteeism among workplace colleagues. Gatekeeping is an essential task in many insurance systems. In this study we exploit exogenous shifts of general practitioners (GPs) occurring when physicians quit or retire. We find that these shifts induce changes in absenteeism for affected workers. By utilizing high-quality Norwegian matched employer-employee data with detailed individual information on certified sick leave during the period 2003-2012, we can study how the transfer of workers between GPs affects co-workers' absenteeism. We identify strong causal positive peer effects in absenteeism: a one day change in focal worker sickness absence transfers to a 0.41 day shift in peer absence. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.