Spillovers from gatekeeping – Peer effects in absenteeism
利用挪威全境2003-2012年雇主-雇员匹配数据，研究发现当全科医生因离职或退休发生变更时，受影响工人的缺勤天数会传导至同事，同伴缺勤变化幅度约为焦点工人的0.41倍。
We study peer effects in absenteeism among workplace colleagues. Gatekeeping is an essential task in many insurance systems. In this study we exploit exogenous shifts of general practitioners (GPs) occurring when physicians quit or retire. We find that these shifts induce changes in absenteeism for affected workers. By utilizing high-quality Norwegian matched employer-employee data with detailed individual information on certified sick leave during the period 2003–2012, we can study how the transfer of workers between GPs affects co-workers' absenteeism. We identify strong causal positive peer effects in absenteeism: a one day change in focal worker sickness absence transfers to a 0.41 day shift in peer absence.