This project will produce the most comprehensive evidence to date on how the U.S. disability insurance system affects the human capital of disabled workers. Using a new conceptual framework, we will develop and apply innovative quasi-experimental methods to newly assembled administrative data in order to show how the disability insurance system not only induces workers with health problems to leave the labor force in order to apply for benefits, but also erodes their employability while they wait out long application processing times during multiple levels of appeal and review. Our approach will produce the best estimates to date of the latent work capacity of disabled workers overall, and of older workers specifically. These estimates will be useful for designing effective reforms that would promote greater labor force attachment among disabled workers.

Public Health Relevance

This project will produce the most comprehensive evidence to date on how the U.S. disability insurance system impacts the human capital of disabled workers. This information is critical for designing effective policy interventions that would promote increased work effort among the disabled.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AG046290-06
Application #
9550887
Study Section
Social Sciences and Population Studies A Study Section (SSPA)
Program Officer
Phillips, John
Project Start
2014-06-15
Project End
2021-05-31
Budget Start
2019-07-01
Budget End
2021-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard Medical School
Department
Administration
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
047006379
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Powell, David; Seabury, Seth (2018) Medical Care Spending and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Workers' Compensation Reforms. Am Econ Rev 108:2995-3027
Hill, Matthew J; Maestas, Nicole; Mullen, Kathleen J (2016) Employer Accommodation and Labor Supply of Disabled Workers. Labour Econ 41:291-303
Mullen, Kathleen J; Staubli, Stefan (2016) Disability Benefit Generosity and Labor Force Withdrawal. J Public Econ 143:49-63
Maestas, Nicole; Mullen, Kathleen J; Strand, Alexander (2015) Disability Insurance and the Great Recession. Am Econ Rev 105:177-182