Does Sick Absence Increase the Risk of Unemployment?

Patrik Hesselius

No 2003:15, Working Paper Series from Uppsala University, Department of Economics

Abstract: The paper examines whether a worker's sick absence behaviour influences the risk of becoming unemployed. Swedish panel data are used to estimate the relationship between the incidence and duration of sick leave and subsequent unemployment. The results indicate that an increase in the number of sick leaves as well as an increase in the duration of sick spells is associated with higher risk of unemployment. Women have a significantly higher risk then men of unemployment associated with sick leave spells longer than 28 days. An implication of the results is that less absence-prone workers are more likely to remain employed in a recession. This in turn may in part explain the pro-cyclical pattern of aggregate Swedish sick absence rates.

Keywords: Sick leave; sickness insurance; health; unemployment; duration analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C41 H55 I18 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2003-03-21
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Forthcoming in Journal of SocioEconomics.

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