The return to work of injured workers: evidence from matched unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation data Monica Galizzi a, * , Leslie I. Boden b,1 a Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854, USA b Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA Received 22 February 2001; received in revised form 17 September 2002; accepted 28 November 2002 Abstract This study represents the first analysis of the return to work of an entire population of workers with job-related injuries. Duration estimates indicate that returning to the pre-injury employer is one of the main determinants of the speed of return to work. The worker’s pre-injury employment history also plays a large role, while the elasticities of the economic incentives vary across injury lengths and model specifications. The length of time off work is an important determinant of the probability of being employed 1 year after the first return to work. Results do not differ by gender. D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: J22; J28 Keywords: Injuries; Return to work; Hazard models 1. Introduction 2 In 1996, firms in the United States reported 6.2 million workplace injuries and illnesses, of which 2.8 million involved restricted work activity or at least 1 day lost from work 0927-5371/03/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0927-5371(03)00014-9 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-978-934-2790; fax: +1-978-934-3071. E-mail addresses: Monica_Galizzi@uml.edu (M. Galizzi), lboden@bu.edu (L.I. Boden). 1 Tel.: +1-617-638-4635; fax: +1-617-638-4847. 2 The original data used in this paper were provided by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Worker’s Compensation Division and by the Wisconsin Unemployment Compensation Division. Unidentifiable records and STATA and LIMDEP programs are available from the authors. www.elsevier.com/locate/econbase Labour Economics 10 (2003) 311– 337