Publications of the Research Unit Labour Markets and Social Insurance

  1. ZEW Discussion Paper No. R&R, Journal of Political Economy // 2021

    Long-Term Health Insurance: Theory Meets Evidence

    To insure policyholders against contemporaneous health expenditure shocks and future reclassification risk, long-term health insurance constitutes an alternative to community-rated short-term contracts with an…

  2. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 21-087 // 2021

    Social Mobility and Economic Development

    We explore the role of social mobility as a driver of economic development. First, we map the geography of intergenerational mobility of education for 52 Latin American regions, as well as its evolution over…

  3. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 21-083 // 2021

    Mandated Sick Pay: Coverage, Utilization, and Welfare Effects

    This paper evaluates how sick pay mandates operate at the job level in the United States. Using the National Compensation Survey and difference-in-differences models, we estimate their impact on coverage rates,…

  4. ZEW Discussion Paper No. 21-082 // 2021

    Early Retirement of Employees in Demanding Jobs: Evidence From a German Pension Reform

    Early retirement options are usually targeted at employees at risk of not reaching their regular retirement age in employment. An important at‐risk group comprises employees who have worked in demanding jobs for…

  5. Refereed Journal // 2021

    Biased Health Perceptions and Risky Health Behaviors—Theory and Evidence

    This paper investigates the role of biased health perceptions as a potential driving force ofrisky health behaviors. We define absolute and relative health perception biases, illustratetheir measurement in…

  6. Refereed Journal // 2021

    Cream Skimming by Health Care Providers and Inequality in Health Care Access: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

    Using a randomized field experiment, we show that health care specialists cream-skim pa- tients by their expected profitability. In the German two-tier system, outpatient reimburse- ment rates for both public…

  7. Refereed Journal // 2021

    Awareness and Use of (Emergency) Sick Leave: US Employees’ Unaddressed Sick Leave Needs in a Global Pandemic

    We study US sick leave use and unaddressed sick leave needs in the midst of the global severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS COV 2) pandemic based on a representative survey. More than half…

  8. Non-Refereed Journal // 2021

    Digitalisierungsschub in Firmen während der Corona-Pandemie

    This article shows the extent to which companies’ investments in digital technologies have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a large German company survey conducted by the Institute for Employment…