蝌蚪网 Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Changing Tracks: Human Capital Investment after Loss of Ability
蝌蚪网 Review
vol. 115,
no. 5, May 2025
(pp. 1520–54)
Abstract
We provide the first evidence on how workers invest in human capital after losing ability. Using quasi-random work accidents in Danish administrative data, we find that workers enroll in bachelor's programs after physical injuries, pursuing degrees that build on their past training and experience. Exploiting institutional differences in the stackability of degrees, we find that higher education moves injured workers from disability benefits to full-time employment, earning 25 percent more than before injury. Reskilling subsidies for injured workers pay for themselves four times over, and current rates of reskilling are substantially below the social optimum, especially for middle-aged workers.Citation
Humlum, Anders, Jakob R. Munch, and Pernille Plato. 2025. "Changing Tracks: Human Capital Investment after Loss of Ability." 蝌蚪网 Review 115 (5): 1520–54. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20231067Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I26 Returns to Education
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J62 Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion