Back to Work after Incapacity Benefit
Differences between Ethnic Minority and Native Dutch Workers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11197360 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erik Snel (0000-0003-3808-9541, Erasmus University Rotterdam, corresponding author), Frank Linder (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 768-788 |
| Publication date | 2008-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2008.00637.x |
| OpenAlex | W2099141889 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 3 |
Contemporary pleas for an activating welfare state and social security system emphasize that getting benefit claimants back to work is more important than providing income compensation for social risks connected with unemployment or illness. The Dutch system of incapacity benefits, however, is far removed from this normative ideal of a proactive social security system. Resumption of work after a spell of incapacity benefit is the exception rather than the rule. This article examines possible ethnic differences in resumption of work following incapacity benefit. We use a unique register data file from Statistics Netherlands that contains information about all incapacity benefit claimants in the Netherlands in 1999. In the analysis we follow these benefit claimants for three years and examine what their labour market position was in 2002. We find that resumption of work after incapacity benefit is even more the exception for migrant workers with a Turkish or Moroccan ethnic background. Contrary to our assumption, this difference from native Dutch workers cannot be explained by unfavourable personal characteristics of Turkish or Moroccan benefit claimants – their personal characteristics (gender, age, low educational level) appear to be rather favourable for resumption of work. In the current literature, these differences in outcomes between ethnic groups are often attributed to certain ‘ethnic‐specific’ or cultural factors. This article argues that we should be careful of explaining different outcomes between ethnic groups by (alleged) cultural phenomena. There are other explanations possible such as differences in work motivation, lack of ‘transition facilities’ in companies and differential treatment by employers or social security officials
Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Ethnic group · Labour economics · Political science · Politics · Social security · Sociology · Turkish · Unemployment · Welfare · Welfare state · Work (physics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.21 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2014 (3) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |