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The diversion from 'unemployment' to 'sickness' across British regions and districts

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  • Christina Beatty
  • Stephen Fothergill

Abstract

Beatty C. and Fothergill S. (2005) The diversion from 'unemployment' to 'sickness' across British regions and districts, Regional Studies 39 , 837-854. Around 2.7 million non-employed adults of working age in the UK claim sickness-related benefits, and the numbers have risen steeply over time. The very large variation in the numbers across districts and regions points strongly to extensive hidden unemployment, especially in older industrial areas affected by job losses. This paper builds on two previous papers by the same authors - one dealing with the theoretical framework and the other with a local case study - to present wholly new estimates of the scale of the diversion across all parts of the country. It also questions contemporary perceptions of the UK labour market and the validity of current approaches to re-engaging sickness claimants with employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 2005. "The diversion from 'unemployment' to 'sickness' across British regions and districts," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(7), pages 837-854.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:39:y:2005:i:7:p:837-854
    DOI: 10.1080/00343400500289804
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David H. Autor & Mark G. Duggan, 2003. "The Rise in the Disability Rolls and the Decline in Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 157-206.
    2. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 2004. "Economic Change and the Labour Market in Britain's Seaside Towns," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 459-478.
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    4. Dan Black & Kermit Daniel & Seth Sanders, 2002. "The Impact of Economic Conditions on Participation in Disability Programs: Evidence from the Coal Boom and Bust," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 27-50, March.
    5. Brian Bell & James Smith, 2004. "Health, disability insurance and labour force participation," Bank of England working papers 218, Bank of England.
    6. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 1996. "Labour Market Adjustment in Areas of Chronic Industrial Decline: The Case of the UK Coalfields," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(7), pages 627-640.
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    Cited by:

    1. Donald Houston, 2020. "Local resistance to rising unemployment in the context of the COVID‐19 mitigation policies across Great Britain," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 1189-1209, December.
    2. Colin Lindsay & Donald Houston, 2011. "Fit for Purpose? Welfare Reform and Challenges for Health and Labour Market Policy in the UK," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(3), pages 703-721, March.
    3. Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2022. "New Evidence on Disability Benefit Claims in Britain: The Role of Health and the Local Labour Market," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(353), pages 131-160, January.
    4. David Bailey & Lisa de Propris, 2014. "Editorial: Recession, Recovery and Resilience?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(11), pages 1757-1760, November.
    5. Stephen Drinkwater, 2015. "Informal Caring and Labour Market Outcomes Within England and Wales," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(2), pages 273-286, February.
    6. Norman, Paul & Boyle, Paul & Exeter, Daniel & Feng, Zhiqiang & Popham, Frank, 2011. "Rising premature mortality in the UK’s persistently deprived areas: Only a Scottish phenomenon?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1575-1584.
    7. Lupton, Ruth & Fenton, Alex & Fitzgerald, Amanda, 2013. "Labour's record on neighbourhood renewal in England: policy, spending and outcomes 1997-2010," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51197, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Maria Plotnikova, 2020. "Explaining Spatial Patterns Of Incapacity Benefit Claimant Rolls," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 14(2), pages 35-48, DECEMBER.
    9. Roberts, Jennifer & Taylor, Karl, 2019. "New Evidence on Disability Benefit Claims in the UK: The Role of Health and the Local Labour Market," IZA Discussion Papers 12825, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. repec:cep:sticas:/177 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Fone, David & Dunstan, Frank & Williams, Gareth & Lloyd, Keith & Palmer, Stephen, 2007. "Places, people and mental health: A multilevel analysis of economic inactivity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 633-645, February.
    12. Richard Burkhauser & Mary Daly & Duncan McVicar & Roger Wilkins, 2014. "Disability benefit growth and disability reform in the US: lessons from other OECD nations," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-30, December.
    13. Khaufelo Raymond Lekobane, 2022. "Leaving No One Behind: An Individual-Level Approach to Measuring Multidimensional Poverty in Botswana," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 179-208, July.
    14. Bella Dicks, 2014. "Participatory Community Regeneration: A Discussion of Risks, Accountability and Crisis in Devolved Wales," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(5), pages 959-977, April.
    15. Paul L. Latreille, 2009. "Disability, Health and the Labour Market: Evidence from the Welsh Health Survey," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 24(3), pages 192-210, May.
    16. Lupton, Ruth & Fenton, Alex & Fitzgerald, Amanda, 2013. "Labour's record on neighbourhood renewal in England: policy, spending and outcomes 1997-2010," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 58086, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Alex Fenton & Amanda Fitzgerald & Ruth Lupton, 2013. "Labour's Record on Neighbourhood Renewal in England: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010," CASE - Social Policy in a Cold Climate Working Paper 06, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    18. Maria Plotnikova, 2020. "Explaining Spatial Patterns Of Incapacity Benefit Claimant Rolls," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 14(2), pages 35-47, DECEMBER.
    19. Tony Champion & Alan Townsend, 2011. "The Fluctuating Record of Economic Regeneration in England's Second-Order City-Regions, 1984-2007," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(8), pages 1539-1562, June.
    20. Khaufelo Raymond Lekobane & Keetie Roelen, 2020. "Leaving No One Behind: Multidimensional Child Poverty in Botswana," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(6), pages 2003-2030, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unemployment; Sickness; Social Security; Districts; Chomage; Maladie; Securite sociale; Districts; Erwerbslosigkeit; Krankheit; Sozialhilfe; Distrikte; Desempleo; Incapacidad laboral; Seguridad social; Distritos; JEL classifications: J64; J68; R23;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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