Do Stronger Employment Discrimination Protections Decrease Reliance on Social Security Disability Insurance? Evidence from the U.S. Social Security Reforms.

ABSTRACT: The United States Social Security Amendments of 1983 increased the full retirement age and penalties for retiring before that age. This increased Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applications by making SSDI relatively more generous. We explore if state disability and age discrimination laws moderated these spillovers, using variation whereby many state laws are broader or stronger than federal law. We estimate the effects of these laws on SSDI applications and receipt using a difference-in-differences approach. We find that a broader definition of disability, where only a medically diagnosed condition is required to be covered under state law, along with being able to sue for more damages under state disability discrimination law, are both associated with a significant reduction

SUBMITTER: Button P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9122272 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature