The Duration of Post-injury Absences from Work.

The authors use three duration models to estimate the effects of disability benefits on the hazard of returning to work and on the expected duration of work absences. The results show that disincentives exist even when disability benefits are not conditioned on the recipient remaining out of work. In addition, blacks and women are found to be absent longer than white men. Durations of work absences are also influenced by available wages, the type and severity of injury, the physical demands of the jobs for which the worker is qualified, and the willingness of employers to help the worker return to work. Copyright 1990 by MIT Press.