摘要: Over the last fifteen years the growth of the absolute and relative (to other forms of compensation) cost of the workers' compensation system has been a stimulus to actuarial and economic research on this important social insurance program. In this chapter we present evidence on a hitherto neglected aspect of the program, namely, the effect that changes in the benefit structure have on the average duration that an individual is expected to receive workers' compensation benefits. We review the appropriate statistical models for estimating such a relation, given that the data on disability spells may be incomplete (right-censored data), and present estimates for the single most important claim type under workers' compensation, the low back claim. We focus on temporary total disability claims because we expect these to reflect economic incentives more readily than claims that are permanently incapacitating. We find that the expected length of stay on workers' compensation is significantly affected by changes in the benefits, wages, and other major parameters of the workers' compensation process, including the representation of the claimant by a lawyer.