Does Disability Insurance Receipt Discourage Work? Using Examiner Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2013
Volume: 103
Issue: 5
Pages: 1797-1829

Authors (3)

Nicole Maestas (not in RePEc) Kathleen J. Mullen (RAND) Alexander Strand (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We present the first causal estimates of the effect of Social Security Disability Insurance benefit receipt on labor supply using all program applicants. We use administrative data to match applications to disability examiners and exploit variation in examiners' allowance rates as an instrument for benefit receipt. We find that among the estimated 23 percent of applicants on the margin of program entry, employment would have been 28 percentage points higher had they not received benefits. The effect is heterogeneous, ranging from no effect for those with more severe impairments to 50 percentage points for entrants with relatively less severe impairments.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:103:y:2013:i:5:p:1797-1829
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26