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Early Determinants of Work Disability in an International Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Axel Börsch-Supan

    (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy
    Technical University of Munich (TUM)
    National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER))

  • Tabea Bucher-Koenen

    (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy
    ZEW – Leibniz Center for European Economic Research
    University of Mannheim)

  • Felizia Hanemann

    (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy
    Technical University of Munich (TUM))

Abstract

This study explores the interrelated roles of health and welfare state policies in the decision to take up disability insurance (DI) benefits due to work disability (WD), defined as the (partial) inability to engage in gainful employment as a result of physical or mental illness. We exploit the large international variation of health, self-reported WD, and the uptake of DI benefits in the United States and Europe using a harmonized data set with life history information assembled from SHARE, ELSA, and HRS. We find that the mismatch between WD and DI benefit receipt varies greatly across countries. Objective health explains a substantial share of the within-country variation in DI, but this is not the case for the variation across countries. Rather, most of the variation between countries and the mismatches are explained by differences in DI policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Axel Börsch-Supan & Tabea Bucher-Koenen & Felizia Hanemann, 2020. "Early Determinants of Work Disability in an International Perspective," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1853-1879, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:57:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1007_s13524-020-00902-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-020-00902-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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