Policies of Reducing the Burden of Occupational Hazards and Disability Pensions

Abstract

In this chapter we describe policy initiatives to enhance labor force participation among disabled people and assess their merits. One key message is that there is no easy or simple way to improve labor market participation and hence reduce poverty and receipt of disability benefit among disabled. If the aim is to further employment and economic well-being among disabled people, it is evident that much of the most popular disability policies pursued today, such as emphasis on work incentives, strict enforcement of conditionalities and sanctions, and focus on supply-side measures, employment quotas, and anti-discrimination legislation, do not have the desired effects. Some of them may even be counterproductive. Research evidence suggests, however, that interventions that improve the work environment, as well as programs based on supported employment approaches,