Are Objective, Official Measures of Disability Reliable?

The issue considered in this study is whether objective, official reports on disability status are reliable. While there is a rather large literature on the reliability of self-reported disability, evidence regarding objective data is scant. It seems to be a widely held view among researchers that, since individuals out of work are inclined to respond towards poor health, it would be best to have official data provided by the relevant administrative bodies. But we argue that such administrative data should be regarded with some suspicion, since the administrators also may have incentives to misreport. The empirical evidence, based on a large sample of Swedish jobseekers, suggests systematic misreporting by the Public Employment Service of objective, official disability measures due to incentives to exaggerate disability.Work Disability; Classification Error; Public Employment Service

The Design and Effects of Collectively Agreed Minimum Wages: Evidence from Sweden

Minimum wages in Sweden are collectively agreed and differ by industry. Within agreements, the rates are also highly differentiated. Minimum wages are higher in Sweden than in any of the countries with statutory rates considered in this study. This is line with the view that minimum wages are higher than otherwise when unions are involved in minimum wage setting. The reported results for Sweden do no support the suggestion that adverse employment effects are modest in systems with collectively agreed rates. This runs counter to the hypothesis that unions and employers have a good sense of what constitutes a relevant market wage for unskilled workers and use this information to set minimum wages at appropriate levels.Minimum Wages; Collective Bargaining

Effects of Increasing Minimum Wages on Employment and Hours: Evidence from Sweden’s Retail Sector

This paper examines the effects of collectively agreed increases in real minimum wages on employment transitions and hours among manual workers in the Swedish retail sector over the period 2001–05. The findings indicate that increases in real minimum wages are associated with more separations, whereas hours are less affected because separated workers put in relatively fewer hours before being separated. Among the young, however, both employment and hours are negatively affected. Labour-labour substitution seems to be important, since increases in minimum wages promote employment among workers with higher wages than those directly affected by the increases. The assumptions of the econometric model were tested by imposing fictitious minimum wages on lower-level non-manuals in the same industry, with turnover characteristics similar to manuals but covered by a different collective agreement with non-binding actual minimum wages.Minimum wages; Labour-labour substitution; Employment

Are objective, official measures of disability reliable?

The issue considered in this study is whether objective, official reports on disability status are reliable. While there is a rather large literature on the reliability of self-reported disability, evidence regarding objective data is scant. It seems to be a widely held view among researchers that, since individuals out of work are inclined to respond towards poor health, it would be best to have official data provided by the relevant administrative bodies. But we argue that such administrative data should be regarded with some suspicion, since the administrators also may have incentives to misreport. The empirical evidence, based on a large sample of Swedish jobseekers, suggests systematic misreporting by the Public Employment Service of objective, official disability measures due to incentives to exaggerate disability.Work disability; classification error; public employment service

Sweden: A Minimum Wage Model in Need of Modification?

Swedish minimum wages are not regulated by law, but subject to bargaining between employers and trade unions and form part of collective agreements. This paper provides an overview of the Swedish minimum wage system, its characteristics and effects on employment and wages, and also discusses the challenges to the model represented by increasing low-wage competition from new EU member states and the verdict in the Laval case, related to this process and the first of its kind in post-enlargement EU.Minimum wages; Low-wage competition; Laval case

Employment Protection Reform, Enforcement in Collective Agreements and Worker Flows

Differential enforcement of employment protection by explicit design of the legislation, for example through exemptions for small firms, has been exploited in a growing body of research. However, little is known about the effects of differential enforcement that is not defined by the letter of the law, presumably due to the lack of data. Our study incorporates aspects of both types of differential enforcement as we combine the evaluation of a partial reform with information on the more difficult-to-observe enforcement of the same reform in collective agreements. We analyse a reform of notice periods for employer-initiated separations in Sweden, which reduced the notice periods for newly hired older workers substantially but implied minor or no changes in the notices for younger workers. The reform was initiated at different times depending on collective agreement. These circumstances provide ample opportunity for the identification of its effects. Our findings indicate heterogeneous effects across collective agreements. Despite differences in terms of dynamics and size, a positive effect on hirings is found for all agreements. In most cases, our results also show an increase in separations, indicating an increase in employment turnover. A salient feature of the results is that the estimated effects increase with the treatment dose, i.e., the size of the reduction in notice periods across different age groups.Employment protection; Hirings; Separations; Collective agreements; Matched employer-employee data

Recruitment to sheltered employment: Evidence from Samhall, a Swedish state-owned company

This paper analyses recruitment practices to Samhall, a state-owned company that provides sheltered employment for individuals with severe work disabilities. Besides providing employment for disabled workers and rehabilitating them to employment outside Samhall, the company is expected to decrease its dependence on Government subsidies. This profitability goal may come into conflict with the recruitment goals, resulting in cream skimming effects. The job security offered at the company may also provide incentives at the individual level for using Samhall as a means of escaping unemployment rather than as an employer of last resort for the most disabled. The evidence regarding cream skimming is mixed; the recruitment-to-Samhall hazards of the prioritised groups, i.e., individuals with intellectual or psychic disabilities, are significantly higher than the hazards for some, but not all, disability groups. Individuals without disabilities tend to be hired by the company, which suggests creaming and is contrary to the guidelines. Finally, the Samhall hazard increases slightly with time in unemployment. This is consistent both with Samhall acting as an employer of last resort and the existence of incentives among individuals to use Samhall in order to escape unemployment.Policy programmes; disability; performance standards

Decentralisation of Active Labour Market Policy: The Case of Swedish Local Employment Service Committees

Decentralisation of decision-making in active labour market policy makes it possible to use local information to the fullest, but may also impinge on the fulfilment of national objectives, as suggested by principal-agent theory. The purpose of this study is to ex-amine the effects of a Swedish pilot programme in 1996, which strengthened the role of the local authorities in labour market policy in parts of the country. Survey evidence suggests a non-negligible divergence between the objectives of the municipality repre-sentatives and the central government's goals. Regarding programme effects, our econometric findings do not indicate any increase in geographical lock-in of the unem-ployed, but decentralisation seems to spur local initiatives in the form of labour market programmes organised by the municipalities. In addition, targeting on outsiders is to some extent more common in municipal projects than in others.Active labour market policy; Decentralisation; Intergovernmental relations

Recruitment to Sheltered Employment: Evidence from Samhall, a Swedish State-Owned Company

This paper analyses recruitment practices to Samhall, a state-owned company that provides sheltered employment for individuals with severe work disabilities. Besides providing employment for disabled workers and rehabilitating them to employment outside Samhall, the company is expected to decrease its dependence on Government subsidies. This profitability goal may come into conflict with the recruitment goals, resulting in cream skimming effects. The job security offered at the company may also provide incentives at the individual level for using Samhall as a means of escaping unemployment rather than as an employer of last resort for the most disabled. The evidence regarding cream skimming is mixed; the recruitment-to-Samhall hazards of the prioritised groups, i.e., individuals with intellectual or psychic disabilities, are significantly higher than the hazards for some, but not all, disability groups. Individuals without disabilities tend to be hired by the company, which suggests creaming and is contrary to the guidelines. Finally, the Samhall hazard increases slightly with time in unemployment. This is consistent both with Samhall acting as an employer of last resort and the existence of incentives among individuals to use Samhall in order to escape unemployment.Policy Programmes; Disability; Performance Standards