Dynamics of work disability reporting in Europe

In this paper we investigate the role of response styles in the dynamics of work disability reporting. Using the 2004 and 2006 waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we document that in Europe surprisingly large fractions of individuals change their self-reported disability status within two years. We find that this dynamics can be largely explained by the fact that respondents change the way they evaluate the severity of work disability problems over time.