Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/71717 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7250
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This article evaluates an expansion of employer-mandated sick leave from 80 to 100 percent of forgone gross wages in Germany. We employ and compare parametric difference-in-difference (DID), matching DID, and mixed approaches. Overall workplace attendance decreased by at least 10 percent or 1 day per worker per year. We show that taking partial compliance into account increases coefficient estimates. Further, heterogeneity in response behavior was of great importance. There is no evidence that the increase in sick leave improved employee health, a finding that supports a shirking explanation. Finally, we provide evidence on potential labor market adjustments to the reform.
Subjects: 
difference-in-differences estimation
sickness absence
generosity of social insurance
employer sick leave mandate
natural experiment
SOEP
JEL: 
H51
I18
J22
J32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
525.32 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.