In Denmark the Register of Social Transfer Payments (DREAM) has provided some unique possibilities for studying the flow between different states of labor force participation i.e. work, unemployment, sickness absence, and disability pension.
Based on the DREAM register, models and methods have been developed to study individuals experiencing sickness absence and calculating the risks of recurrent sickness absence, early retirement, unemployment, and the chance of returning to work. In particular, the methods have been constructed to consider these possible outcomes simultaneously. To be able to enhance these methods and further distinguish between different types of sick-listings, e.g. sickness of individuals due to chronic disease or small companies covering their employees by an extra insurance, a new register abbreviated RSS (Danish Register of Sickness Absence Compensation and Social Transfer Payments) has recently been developed at the National Research Center for the Working Environment (NRCWE).
Graphic models and results from the project will soon be published in a Ph.D. dissertation by statistician Jacob Pedersen from the NRCWE. The work presents an excellent tool and a novel approach for more detailed calculations of work life expectancy – one of the new and relevant goals for research and surveillance of the working environment that has been introduced by researchers in Sweden and the Netherlands. The Danish approach will allow more detailed calculations of difference in work life expectancy between groups differing in social class, job title, working environment or health statuses, and enable studies examining the effect of the raised retirement age in Denmark. These new methods may in turn inspire other countries to conduct similar calculations, taking into account their national possibilities for linking records.
Contact: Elsa Bach: eba@nrcwe.dk
