Caseworkers’ attitudes: Do they matter?

Nina Granqvist (), Pathric Hägglund () and Stina Jakobsson ()
Additional contact information
Nina Granqvist: The Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate (ISF)
Pathric Hägglund: The Swedish National Audit Office
Stina Jakobsson: Unionen

Empirical Economics, 2017, vol. 52, issue 4, No 5, 1288 pages

Abstract: Abstract The caseworkers in public insurance systems possess considerable discretion in terms of making decisions. This creates scope for preferences and attitudes to reflect on initiatives taken during sick leave and on individuals’ return to work. This paper utilizes a unique caseworker–individual data set in the public sickness insurance (SI) in Sweden to analyze the impact of caseworkers’ attitudes towards SI rules and rehabilitation programs promoting individuals’ return to work. We find that a positive attitude towards SI rules increased return to work by 3 %, or 3.5 days, after comparing the 25 % most positive caseworkers with the 25 % least positive. Also, a positive attitude towards existing rehabilitation methods reduced return to work by about 2.5 %, or 3 days.

Keywords: Public sickness insurance; Treatment effects; Caseworker attitudes; Sick-leave duration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C31 H51 I18 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s00181-016-1117-1

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