Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/334679 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18264
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Spikes in exits at unemployment insurance (UI) benefit exhaustion into other benefit schemes such as sickness insurance (SI) are well-documented. These spikes could be driven by relatively healthy workers maximizing their total duration of benefit receipt, or workers in ill health who remain on UI while incapable of working. While the first explanation calls for a stricter SI and UI system, the second highlights the need for increased information provision. We study the importance of these explanations by first documenting a spike in exits into SI at UI benefit exhaustion in the Netherlands. Comparing detailed health and labor market characteristics of exit cohorts, we show that the spike is unlikely to be driven by maximizing behavior of relatively healthy workers. Instead, our results point to catch-up of initial non-take-up of SI by workers with substantial mental and physical health conditions. This opposes earlier work on substitution between UI and SI/DI.
Subjects: 
sickness benefits
unemployment Insurance
spikes
non-take-up
JEL: 
H53
H75
J65
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





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