Absenteeism Rises When Popular Medications Leave the Market
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The introduction and withdrawal of Vioxx, which was commonly prescribed for conditions like arthritis, created a natural laboratory for economists Meghan Skira of the Terry College and Aline Bütikofer of the Norwegian School of Economics to study its effects on the labor supply of individuals with joint pain. They used administrative data from Norway on sickness absence and disability pension receipt for the analysis.
“We found that when Vioxx entered the market, it decreased quarterly sickness absence days among individuals with joint pain by 7 to 12 percent relative to the pre-entry period,” Skira said. “But the withdrawal of Vioxx from the pharmaceutical market increased sickness absence days by 12 to 16 percent and increased the quarterly probability of receiving disability benefits by 6 to 15 percent relative to the pre-entry period.”
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