Real Trends or Measurement Problems? Disability and Employment Trends from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

This paper addresses important concerns in using statistical data to track outcomes of people with disabilities and provides new evidence of employment trends of people with disabilities using alternative disability conceptualizations from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This analysis comes at an important time because some researchers have criticized the data and definitions used to measure these trends. At the extreme, some have concluded that such analyses should cease because of major limitations in measuring disability that exists in current surveys (especially the SIPP). Because the SIPP has been used extensively to examine outcomes of people with disabilities, it is important to understand these data criticisms and test whether the trends from the SIPP mirror those in other data sources. We conclude that the different empirical results found by researchers are not caused by "problems" with the data but rather with the assumptions researchers make when using the data. We illustrate the importance of exercising caution when developing disability questions and measuring disability trends in existing data sources. While some measures of limitations may be problematic, we find that the relatively broad measures used in several disability studies provide reasonable estimations of important subgroups of people with disabilities. We also show that the timing and structure of specific questions affects disability prevalence rates and influences observed outcomes. When we use comparable definitions across panels, we consistently find that employment rates of men with disabilities have fallen from 1990 to 1996 and employment rates of women with disabilities have remained flat. The consistency of these findings across a variety of measures illustrates an important and disturbing trend of downward employment rates for people with disabilities. These findings are particularly disturbing because they suggest that the gap in employment rates between those with and without disabilities is growing

School to where? A literature review on economic outcomes of youth with Disabilities

This paper summarizes the recent empirical literature on post-secondary school outcomes of youth with disabilities. Our summary illustrates the variation in characteristics and outcomes that exist in several subpopulations generally defined as youth with disabilities. Unfortunately, a major limitation of this literature, particularly for special education students and SSI recipients, is a lack of information on recent outcomes. Specifically, there were no major data collection efforts, at least at the national level, to track these populations in the mid to late nineties. While upcoming data sources, such as the National Longitudinal Transition Survey2 (NLTS2) and National Survey of Children and Families (NSCF), should fill major gaps in existing knowledge, other data initiatives are necessary to ensure that policy makers continuously have current information. We suggest several types of survey and administrative data initiatives, as well as new research projects using current data, to address current gaps

The Relationship between Early Disability Onset and Education and Employment

The early onset of disability (at birth through young adulthood) can affect a person's employment outcomes in myriad ways. In addition to the direct effect of disability on employment, early onset of disability likely affects the acquisition of education and job skills (human capital). This reduced "investment" in human capital in turn may reduce the individual's employment and earnings prospects throughout their lifetime. If this is the case, people with early onset of disability may be doubly disadvantaged when it comes to later employment prospects.This study analyzes how early onset of disability (onset prior to age 22) affects employment opportunities both directly and as a result of reduced investment in human capital (education) for a younger cohort (ages 22 to 35) and older cohort (ages 44 to 54). In our young cohort, we find that people with early onset of disability have a lower probability of completing high school and a lower probability of being employed than those without disabilities. Lower employment rates result from both lower levels of high school completion and a direct negative impact of disability on work. In the older cohort, we find the employment of those with disability is lower than those without disability, regardless of age of onset. However, those with early onset of disability have significantly higher employment rates than those with later onset of disability (after age 22). We hypothesize that this is a result of people with onset of disability prior to age 22 either choose careers that can be more easily accommodated than the careers people with later disability onset have, or that people with early onset of disability are more likely to be adept at seeking and using accommodations than those with later disability onset. These results suggest that policies and programs to increase employment of persons with disabilities should focus on ways to increase education levels of those with early onset of disability. They also suggest that return-to-work efforts focused on older cohorts of persons with disabilities may want to separately target programs to those with early onset of disability

Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D

This paper examines barriers to work among adults with disabilities in two specific areas -- searching for jobs and workplace accommodations -- using data from the 1994/95 National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement. Focusing on the subgroup with a high likelihood of future work, we find that a majority report difficulties searching for work, particularly in gaining information about appropriate jobs and having transportation to search. About a third of non-workers report needing workplace accommodations in order to work. The specific types of accommodations needed are similar to those being used by current workers with disabilities. We also find that need for accommodation, even after controlling for severity of disability, reduces the probability of work

A Guide to Disability Statistics from the National Health Interview Survey – Disability Supplement

The National Health Interview Survey - Disability supplement (NHIS-D) provides information that can be used to understand myriad topics related to health and disability. The survey provides comprehensive information on multiple disability conceptualizations that can be identified using information about health conditions (both physical and mental), activity limitations, and service receipt (e.g. SSI, SSDI, Vocational Rehabilitation). This provides flexibility for researchers in defining populations of interest. This paper provides a description of the data available in the NHIS-D and information on how the data can be used to better understand the lives of people with disabilities

A Reference Manual for Child Tax Benefits

Describes the dependent exemption, child tax credit, earned income tax credit, child and dependent care tax credit, flexible spending accounts, and higher education credits. Discusses the complexity of child tax benefits and proposed reforms

The Next Stage for Social Policy: Encouraging Work and Family Formation Among Low-Income Men

Examines proposals to create work incentives for less-educated young men by changing the Earned Income Tax Credit for the childless into an individual work credit and reducing the marriage penalty. Simulates each proposal's effects, with cost estimates

Kids Share 2022: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children through 2021 and Future Projections

Public spending on children represents an effort to invest in the nation's future. Investments supporting children's healthy development and human potential can promote their well-being and help them grow into the next generation of adults and workers, leading to a stronger workforce and economy.To inform policymakers, children's advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 16th edition of the annual Kids' Share report provides an updated analysis of federal expenditures on children from 1960 to 2021. It also offers an updated view of public expenditures made in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Projections of federal expenditures on children through 2032 give a sense of how budget priorities are scheduled to unfold over the longer term under current law

Tax Burden and the Mismeasurement of State Tax Policy

Tax Burden, defined as the ratio of total tax revenues over personal income, is frequently used to measure state tax policy. The authors analyze the empirical relationship between changes in Tax Burden and changes in tax policies from 1987 to 2000 using states’ forecasts of revenue impacts of new tax legislation. Their two major findings have important implications. First, they demonstrate that income-induced, nontax policy changes are a significant determinant of changes in Tax Burden. These income effects are likely to cause misinterpretation when Tax Burden is used as a variable in economic growth regressions. Second, they estimate that approximately half of the total variation in Tax Burden is due to changes in nontax policy factors. This finding quantifies the extent of the “mismeasurement” problem that has been discussed, but not analyzed, in previous literature. In concluding, the authors promote the use of alternative approaches for estimating the economic effects of taxes.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline