Monica Galizzi

Relative Wages, Wage Growth, and Quit Behavior

Using Italian Social Security records for male workers from a sample of firms in Turin from 1981 to 1983, we show that conditional on the workers own wage the average wage in the establishment for similar workers is negatively related to quits. We also find that this variable predicts future wage growth. This is consistent with an economic model in which workers compare the longrun value of employment opportunities when making quit decisions.

Income Losses of Women and Men Injured at Work

Women and men injured at work in Wisconsin during 1989 and 1990 have similar levels of lost earnings in the quarter of injury. However, in the three and one-half years after the post-injury quarter, women lose an average of 9.2 percent of earnings, while men lose only 6.5 percent. Even after accounting for covariates with a variant of the Oaxaca-Blinder-Neumark decomposition, the disparity in long-term losses remains. Differences in injury-related nonemployment account for about half the covariate-adjusted gap over the four-year post-injury period. Changes in hours worked may explain all or part of the remaining gap. Gender differences in labor supply appear likely to account for much of the disparity in losses, but discrimination remains a viable explanation.

Conducting interdisciplinary research to promote healthy and safe employment in health care: promises and pitfalls.

Due to the complexity of human health, emphasis is increasingly being placed on the need for and conduct of multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary health research. Yet many academic and research organizations—and the discipline-specific associations and journals—may not yet be prepared to adopt changes necessary to optimally support interdisciplinary work. This article presents an ongoing interdisciplinary research projects efforts to investigate mechanisms and pathways that lead to occupational health disparities among healthcare workers. It describes the promises and pitfalls encountered during the research, and outlines effective strategies that emerged as a result. Lessons learned include: conflict resolution regarding theoretical and methodological differences; establishing a sense of intellectual ownership of the research, as well as guidelines for multiple authorship; and development and utilization of protocols, communication systems, and tools. This experience suggests a need for the establishment of supportive structures and processes to promote successful interdisciplinary research.

The return to work of injured workers: evidence from matched unemployment insurance and workers' compensation data

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 workers 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.

Gender and Labor Attachment: Do Within‐Firms’ Relative Wages Matter?

This article addresses the issue of gender differences in labor attachment by testing for the role of intrafirm wage comparison. It makes use of a measure of firms’ relative wages. The results indicate that once the forward-looking behavior of workers is taken into account, women are actually more attached employees than men. Women’s attachment is also more affected by equity considerations. The analysis makes use of a dataset on short-tenure Italian workers.

Injured workers and their return to work: Beyond individual disability and economic incentives

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to study the factors affecting the return to work (RTW) of injured workers in an institutional setting where workers’ earnings are fully compensated during the disability period. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors use a unique data set matching employer-employee panel data with Italian workers’ compensation records. The authors estimate survival models accounting for workers’ unobserved heterogeneity. Findings - – Workers with higher wage growth, higher relative wages and from firms with better histories of stable employment, RTW sooner. More vulnerable workers – immigrants, females, members of smaller firms – also tend to return sooner. But even when we control for such measures of commitment, status, and job security, high-wage workers RTW sooner. Research limitations/implications - – The authors use proxies as measures of commitment and status. The authors study blue-collar workers without finer job qualifications. The authors estimate a reduced form model. Practical implications - – In an institutional environment where the immediate cost of workers’ compensation benefits falls largely on firms, employers seem to pressure those workers whose time off is more costly, i.e., high-wage workers. The lack of evidence of Social implications - – Workers who are induced to RTW before full recovery jeopardize their long- term health and employability. Firms that put such pressure on employees might generate social costs that can be particularity high in the case of high productivity workers. Originality/value - – The paper offers the first quantitative analysis of an institutional setting where injured workers face 100 percent benefits replacement rate and have job security. This allows focus on other workers’ or employers’ reasons to speed RTW. It is one of very few economics studies on this topic in the European context, providing implications for human resource managers, state regulators, and unions.

Healthcare experiences of young adults with autism spectrum disorder

Purpose Characteristic challenges that define autism spectrum disorder (ASD), coupled with comorbid conditions and poor communication with providers, can lead to inadequate healthcare. The majority of previous work has focused on children. The purpose of this paper is to examine the healthcare experiences of young adults with ASD within the US healthcare system. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire was utilized to examine: the accessibility of healthcare for those with ASD: do they make their own appointments, fill out paperwork independently, go in the examination room on their own; the quality of care they receive: what are their medical needs, how effectively can they communicate their needs, do providers understand their disability; and the outcomes of care: do they understand their recommended care, can they follow healthcare instructions accurately, are they satisfied with the care received. The authors compared responses of those with ASD (n=16) with those of parents of adults with ASD (n=50), as well as a matched comparison group of young adults without ASD (n=42) for statistical differences using the Fisher Exact test. The authors also asked parents about their time costs of assisting their adult children through the healthcare process. Findings The results suggest that those with ASD overestimated their ability to manage their healthcare needs, felt more positively about the healthcare they received than was warranted, and were significantly less independent in managing their healthcare than their peers. Parents experienced losses and costs in terms of lost productivity, household work, and personal time. Originality/value This study furthers the understanding of the healthcare experiences of young adults with ASD which is crucial to dissecting problems which hamper access to quality care.