THE EFFECTS OF EXPANDING THE GENEROSITY OF THE STATUTORY SICKNESS INSURANCE SYSTEM
评估德国将雇主强制病假工资从原工资的80%提高到100%的效果，发现总体缺勤增加至少10%或每人每年1天，且没有证据表明员工健康改善。
SUMMARY This article evaluates an expansion of employer‐mandated sick leave from 80% to 100% of forgone gross wages in Germany. We employ and compare parametric difference‐in‐difference (DID), matching DID and mixed approaches. Overall workplace absences increased by at least 10% 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. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.