Activation Against Absenteeism: Evidence from a Sickness Insurance Reform in Norway

32 Pages Posted: 18 Sep 2017 Last revised: 19 May 2022

See all articles by Oeystein Hernaes

Oeystein Hernaes

University of Oslo - Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research

Abstract

I evaluate a program aimed at strictly enforcing a requirement that people on long-term sick leave be partly back at work unless explicitly defined as an exception. Employing the synthetic control method, I find that the reform reduced work-hours lost due to absenteeism by 12 % in the reform region compared to a comparison unit created by a weighted average of similar regions. The effect is driven by both increased part-time presence of temporary disabled workers and accelerated recovery. Musculoskeletal disorders was the diagnosis group declining the most. The findings imply large savings in social security expenditures.

Keywords: activation, disability, absenteeism, forkfare

JEL Classification: I18, I38, J48

Suggested Citation

Hernaes, Oeystein, Activation Against Absenteeism: Evidence from a Sickness Insurance Reform in Norway. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10991, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3037896

Oeystein Hernaes (Contact Author)

University of Oslo - Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research ( email )

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