Acute health shocks and labour market outcomes

We investigate the labour supply response to acute health shocks experienced in the post-crash labour market by individuals of working age, using data from Understanding Society. Identification exploits uncertainty in the timing of an acute health shock, defined by the incidence of cancer, stroke, or heart attack. Results, obtained through a combination of coarsened exact and propensity score matching, show acute health shocks significantly reduce participation, with younger workers displaying stronger labour market attachment. The impact on older, more educated, women suggests an important role for preferences, financial constraints, and intra-household division of labour determining labour supply decisions

Loss in working years after a breast cancer diagnosis

Background Breast cancer can negatively influence working life, but it is unclear how many working years women with breast cancer can expect to lose. Methods Women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1997 and 2012 were identified in the Breast Cancer Data Base Sweden (N=19,661), together with breast cancer-free comparison women (N=81,303). Using flexible parametric survival modelling, the loss in working years was calculated as the difference in the remaining years in the work force between women with and without breast cancer. Results Women aged 50 years at diagnosis with stage I disease lost on average 0.5 years (95% CI, 0.2–0.7) of their remaining working time; the corresponding estimates were 0.9 years (0.5– 1.2) in stage II, 2.5 years (1.9–3.1) in stage III, and 8.1 years (6.5–9.7) in stage IV. Women with in-situ breast cancer did not lose any working years. The strongest treatment determinant was axillary lymph node dissection. Conclusion We found a loss in working years not only in late, but also in early stage breast cancer. Although it is reassuring that some groups had no or only a modest work loss, the economic consequences for society are considerable given the large number of women annually diagnosed with breast cancer