Abstract
This paper estimates the effects of vocational rehabilitation on the probability of improved health status and the reintegration of program participants into the labour market. Bivariate probit models are used to estimate the probability of selection to a rehabilitation program, and its effect on restoring the work capacity of the participants and their rejoining the labour market. The empirical application is based on a sample of individuals residing in Western Sweden who qualified for the vocational rehabilitation programs and who were registered with long-term sickness during 1991-1994. The results show variations in the fraction of the sample selected to participate in the rehabilitation programs, in the effects of the programs, and in the importance of individual heterogeneity for the outcome of programs. Participation in vocational rehabilitation programs is found to have a positive effect on the participants' health status and on their rate of return to work. There was weak or no evidence of selection based upon the unobservable characteristics of individuals that are most likely to regain their health or individuals with a higher potential to gain re-employment. From a social point of view the social aspects and health-related needs of the participants are valued more than the economic efficiency of the vocational rehabilitation programs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aakvik, A., Risa, A. E. (1996): Success through Selection in Norwegian Vocational Reha- bilitation Programs? Unpublished Working Paper,University of Bergen, Norway.
Anderson, K. H., Burkhauser, R. V., Raymond, J. E. (1993): The Effects of Creaming on Placement Rates under the Job Training Partnership Act. Industrial and Labour Relations Review 46, 613-624.
Ashenfelter, O., Card, D. (1985): Using the longitudinal structure of earnings to estimate the effect of training programs Review of Economics and Statistics 67, 648-660.
Barrow, B. (1987): The Impact of CETA Programs on Earnings: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Human Resources 22, 157-193.
Bassi, L. (1984): Estimating the Effect of Training Programs with Non-Random Selection. Review of Economics and Statistics 66, 36-43.
Bergendorff, S., Lidwall, U., Ljungberg, D., Marklund, S. (1997): Sickness Absenteeism and Vocational Rehabilitation in Sweden — A Summary. In: Marklund, S. (Ed.): Risk-, friskfaktorer — sjukskrivning och rehabilitering i Sverige. RFV Redovisar 1997:6, 157-166.
Berkowitz, E. (1988): The Cost-Benefit Tradition in Vocational Rehabilitation. In: Berkowitz, M. (Ed): Measuring the Efficiency of Public Programs. Costs and Benefits in Vocational Rehabilitation. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Björklund, A. (1988): What Experiment Are Needed for Manpower Policy. Journal of Human Resources 23, 267-277.
Burtless, G. (1995): The Case of Randomized Field Trials in Economic and Policy Research. Journal of Economic Perspectives 9, 63-84.
Burtless, G., Orr, L. (1986): Are Classical Experiments Needed for Man-Power Policy? Journal of Human Resources 21, 606-639.
Dean, D., Dolan, R. C. (1991): Fixed-Effects Estimates of Earnings Impacts for the Vocational Rehabilitation Program. Journal of Human Resources 26, 380-391.
Fraker, T., Maynard, R. (1987): The Adequacy of Comparison Group Design for Evalua- tion of Employment Related Programs. Journal of Human Resources 22, 194-227.
Frölich, M., Heshmati, A., Lechner, M. (2000): A Microeconometric Evaluation of Rehabilitation of Long-term Sickness in Sweden. Discussion Paper 200004, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
Gay, R. S., Borus, M. E. (1980): Validating Performance Indicators for Employment and Training Programs. Journal of Human Resources 15, 29-48.
Greene, H. W. (1993): Econometric Analysis. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York.
Heckman, J. J., Hotz, V. J. (1989): Choosing Among Alternative Nonexperimental Methods for Estimating the Impact of Social Programs: The Case of Manpower Training.
Journal of the American Statistical Association, 84(408), 862-880 (including comment by Holland, P. W., Moffitt, R., and a rejoinder by Heckman, J.J., Hotz, V.J.).
Heckman, J.J., LaLonde, R. J., Smith, J. A. (1999): The Economics and Econometrics of Active Labour Market Programs. In: Ashenfelter, O., Card, D. (Eds.): The Handbook of Labour Economics, Vol. III 1865-2097.
LaLonde, R. J. (1986): Evaluating the Econometric Evaluations of Training Programs with Experimental Data. American Economic Review 74, 604-620.
LaLonde, R. J. (1995): The Promise of Public Sector-Sponsored Training Programs. Journal of Economic Perspectives 9, 149-168.
Lechner, M. (2000): An Evaluation of Public Sector Sponsored Continuous Vocational Training Programs in East Germany. Journal of Human Resources (forthcoming).
Marklund, S. (1995): Vilka läangtidssjuka blir rehabiliterade? In: Marklund, S. (Ed): Reha-bilitering i ett samhällsperspektiv, Lund, Studentlitteratur.
Nowak, L. (1983): A Cost Effectiveness Evaluation of the FederaUState Vocational Reha- bilitation Program — Using a Comparison Group. The American Economist 27, 23-29.
Pissarides, C.A., Wadsworth, J. (1994): On-the-job Search: Some Empirical Evidence from Britain. European Economic Review 38, 385-402.
RFV (1996): Social Insurance Facts 1996. National Social Insurance Board, Stockholm, Sweden.
Wortall, J. (1988): Benefit and Cost Models. In: Berkowitz, M. (Ed.): Measuring the Efficiency of Public Programs. Costs and Benefits in Vocational Rehabilitation. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Heshmati, A., Engström, LG. (2001). Estimating the effects of vocational rehabilitation programs in Sweden. In: Lechner, M., Pfeiffer, F. (eds) Econometric Evaluation of Labour Market Policies. ZEW Economic Studies, vol 13. Physica, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57615-7_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57615-7_8
Publisher Name: Physica, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-7908-1372-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-57615-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive