Røed, Knut, and Elisabeth Fevang. 2007. “Organizational Change, Absenteeism, and Welfare Dependency.” Journal of Human Resources 42(1): 156–193.
Based on Norwegian register data, we set up a multivariate mixed proportional hazard model (MMPH) to analyze nurses’ pattern of work, sickness absence, nonemployment, and social insurance dependency from 1992 to 2000, and how that pattern was affected by workplace characteristics. The model is estimated by means of the nonparametric maximum-likelihood estimator (NPMLE). We find that downsizing processes involve a significant increase in the level of sickness absence among still-employed nurses. They also cause a significant increase in the probability of entering into more long-lasting health-related social insurance dependency.
Knut Røed is a senior research fellow and Elisabeth Fevang a research assistant at the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research, Oslo, Norway. This paper is part of a Strategic Institute Program on Labor Market and Pension Research, financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Labor and Social Inclusion and the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. We have also received financial support from the Health Economics Research Program at the University of Oslo (HERO). Thanks to Pål Jørgen Bakke, Morten Henningsen, Jonas Lagerström, Karine Nyborg, Oddbjørn Raaum, and two anonymous referees, for valuable comments. Also thanks to Morten Henningsen for assistance in the preparation of municipality/county data. The administrative micro-data used in this paper are received from Statistics Norway by consent of the Norwegian Data Inspectorate. The authors are not in a position to make the data available to other users, but Statistics Norway can provide access subject to approval of an application. Interested Norwegian scholars may consult www.ssb.no/mikrodata/. Access from outside Norway is restricted. Statistics Norway may allow access, however, via statistical agencies in the country in question, provided they operate with sufficient guarantees of confidentiality. The authors of this paper will help scholars seeking access to these data as best they can. Correspondence to: Knut Røed, the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research, Gaustadalléen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway; www.frisch.uio.no. E-mail: knut.roed@frisch.uio.no.