RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Missing Work is a Pain: The Effect of Cox-2 Inhibitors on Sickness Absence and Disability Pension Receipt
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0215-6958R1
DO 10.3368/jhr.53.1.0215-6958R1
A1 Bütikofer, Aline
A1 Skira, Meghan M.
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2016/12/05/jhr.53.1.0215-6958R1.abstract
AB How does medical innovation affect labor supply? We analyze how the availability of Cox-2 inhibitors, pharmaceuticals used for treating pain and inflammation, affected the sickness absence and disability pension receipt of individuals with joint pain. We exploit the market entry of the Cox-2 inhibitor Vioxx and its sudden market withdrawal as exogenous sources of variation in drug use. Using Norwegian administrative data, we find Vioxx’s entry decreased quarterly sickness absence days among individuals with joint pain by 7–12 percent. The withdrawal increased sickness days by 12–16 percent and increased the quarterly probability of receiving disability benefits by 6–15 percent.