Starting Sick Leave on Part-Time as a Treatment Method?

This paper analyzes the effects of starting the sick leave on part-time compared to fulltime on the probability to recover (i.e., return to work with full recovery of lost work capacity). Using a discrete choice one-factor model, we estimate mean treatment parameters and distributional treatment parameters from a common set of structural parameters. Our results indicate that part-time sick leave is not an intensive treatment and should not to be used for all from the very beginning of a case. However, when the output is analyzed for time spans longer than three months, the average probability to recover is higher for those who started on part time sick leave. Besides, the share of individuals who are positive indifferent between the two states is large (above 50%), which suggests that there is potential for increasing the sharepart-time sick leave; selection; unobserved heterogeneity; treatment effects

Is part-time sick leave helping the unemployed?

Using a discrete choice one-factor model, we estimate mean treatment parameters and distributional treatment parameters to analyze the effects of degree of sick leave on the probability of full recovery of lost work capacity for employed and unemployed individuals, respectively. Our results indicate that one year after the sick leave spell started, the average potential impact of part-time sick listing on an individual randomly chosen from the population on sick leave was positive for both groups, but the average effect on those who actually were on part-time sick leave was positive only for the employed, and negative for the unemployed.unemployed; part-time sick leave; selection; unobserved heterogeneity; treatment effects

How to evaluate the impact of part-time sick leave on the probability of recovering

This paper presents an econometric framework for analyzing part-time sick leave as a treatment method. We exemplify how the discrete choice one-factor model can address the importance of controlling for unobserved heterogeneity in understanding the selection into part-time/full-time sick leave and the probability to fully recover from a reduced work capacity. The results indicate that part-time sick listing increases the probability to recover compared to full-time sick listing when the expected time to recover is longer than 120 days.part-time sick leave; discrete choice model; selection; unobserved heterogeneity.

Part-time Sick Leave as a Treatment for Individuals with Mental Disorders?

It has been suggested that using, when possible, part-time sick leave (PTSL) rather than full-time sick leave (FTSL) for employees diagnosed with a mental disorder (MD) decreases their likelihood of being on sick leave for long periods. However, no study has analyzed this "treatment". Using a one-factor loadings model and a sample of 627 employees on sick leave due to an MD diagnosis, we estimate the impact of the PTSL "treatment" on the probability of full recovery of lost work capacity. The results indicate that employees with an MD diagnosis assigned to PTSL after 60 days of FTSL have a relatively high probability of full recovery. More exactly, the average treatment effect of PTSL is relatively low (0.015) when assigned in the beginning of the spell, but relatively high (0.387), and statistically significant, when assigned after 60 days of FTSL.Part-time sick leave; mental disorders; one-factor loadings model

Sickness-related Absenteeism and Economic Incentives in Sweden: A History of Reforms

Krankheit, Fehlzeit, Ökonomischer Anreiz, Schweden, Disease, Work absence, Economic incentive, Sweden

"Waiting for the other shoe to drop": waiting for health care and duration of sick leave

This paper uses a labor supply model that incorporates waiting for health care to derive an empirical specification for sick leave and to estimate the impact of waiting for health care on the duration of sick leave. In the estimations, we use the 2002 sample of the RFV-LS register database, supplemented with information from questionnaires. The results indicate that almost all waiting for health care variables have a statistically significant positive impact on the duration of sick leave, and did not induce substantial changes on the impact of traditional variables of the labor supply model.sick leave; waiting list

Exchange-Rate and Interest-Rate Driven Competitive Advantages in the EMU

Real exchange and interest rates may still fluctuate inside the EMU and give rise to changes in competitiveness. We find, in contrast to what is generally expected, no convergence in these variables after the introduction of the euro. On the contrary, a divergence is found that is extraordinary when compared to the preceding 40 years. The magnitude of the divergence should urge on a wave of restructuring in the EMU, conditioned upon adequate policy responses. The worst-case scenario involves a flight to structural support and protectionism, challenging the whole idea of the EMU.   Real Exchange Rates; Real Interest Rates; EMU; Competitive Advantage; Restructuring

"Waiting for the other shoe to drop": waiting for health care and duration of sick leave

This paper uses a labor supply model that incorporates waiting for health care to derive an empirical specification for sick leave and to estimate the impact of waiting for health care on the duration of sick leave. In the estimations, we use the 2002 sample of the RFV-LS register database, supplemented with information from questionnaires. The results indicate that almost all waiting for health care variables have a statistically significant positive impact on the duration of sick leave, and did not induce substantial changes on the impact of traditional variables of the labor supply model.sick leave; waiting list

Part-time sick leave as a treatment method for individuals with musculoskeletal disorders

There is increasing evidence that staying active is an important part of a recovery process for individuals on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). It has been suggested that using part-time sick-leave rather than full-time sick leave will enhance the possibility of full recovery to the workforce, and several countries actively favor this policy. However, to date only few studies have estimated the effect of using part-time sick leave in contrast to full-time sick leave. In this paper the effects of being on part-time sick leave compared to full-time sick leave is estimated for the probability of returning to work with full recovery of lost work capacity and uses a sample of 1,170 employees from the RFV-LS database of the Social Insurance Agency of Sweden. A twostage recursive bivariate probit model is used to deal with the endogeneity problem. The first step estimates the probability of being assigned to part-time sick leave, and the second step estimates the likelihood of recovery with part-time sick-leave as an explanatory variable together with a set of other individual characteristics. The results indicate that employees assigned to part-time sick leave do recover to full work capacity with a higher probability than those assigned to full-time sick leave. The average treatment effect of part-time sick leave is 25 percentage points. Considering that it may also be less expensive than assigning individuals to full-time sick leave, this would clearly imply efficiency improvements from assigning individuals, when possible, to part-time sick leaveSick-leave; Part-time; Musculoskeletal; Endogenous regressors.

Producer Prices in the Transition to a Common Currency

We analyze producer price developments in the transition from a national exchange rate regime to a monetary union. The focus is on the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Stylized facts witness about an exploding gaps in producer-price inflation during the years immediately following the completion of the EMU. Price convergence is found to be an important driver throughout the entire euro period (1999-2005), but with no significant differences in speed compared to the pre euro period. Productivity growth had its primary effect in the first years and effective exchange-rate changes in the later years of the euro period.Producer prices; Relative prices; Price convergence; Euro; Balassa-Samuelson