The Effects of Occupational Injuries After Returns to Work: Work Absences and Losses of On-the-Job Productivity |
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| Authors: | Richard J Butler Marjorie L Baldwin William G Johnson† |
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| Institution: | Richard J. Butler is at the Department of Economics, 183 FOB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602; e-mail:;. Marjorie L. Baldwin is a professor at W. P. Carey School of Business, School of Health Management and Policy, Arizona State University, PO Box 874506, Tempe, AZ 85287-4506; e-mail:;. William G. Johnson is at the School of Health Administration and Policy and Department of Economics, BAC 583, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287; e-mail: . |
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| Abstract: | We extend the research on postinjury employment by estimating productivity losses for workers with permanent partial disabilities (PPDs) in the first three years after injury. Our method distinguishes between productivity losses attributed to spells of work absence versus reduced earnings during spells of employment. The method is applied to data for 800 Ontario workers with PPDs. The results document large productivity losses persisting at least three years after injury, with different loss patterns for workers returning to stable versus unstable employment. Human capital investments or job accommodations can reduce productivity losses, but the significant determinants of losses differ for the stable versus unstable employment groups. |
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