Sick Leave Cuts and (Unhealthy) Returns to Work

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Marie, Olivier; Castello, Judit Vall
• 署名单位: Erasmus University Rotterdam; Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; University of Barcelona; Pompeu Fabra University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/720629
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 923-956
• 关键词: Disability insurance; moral hazard; absenteeism; inference

摘要

We investigate the impact on work absences of a large reduction in paid sick leave benefits in Spain. Our results highlight substantial decreases in frequency (number of spells) mostly offset by increases in duration (length of spells). Overall, the policy did reduce the number of days lost to sick leave. For some, however, return to work was premature, as we document large increases in both the proportion of relapses and the number of working accidents. Displacement toward this unaffected benefit scheme cancels out almost two-fifths of the gains in terms of estimated absence reductions from the sick leave benefit cut.