IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jecsur/v22y2008i1p114-139.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why Have Uk Disability Benefit Rolls Grown So Much?

Author

Listed:
  • Duncan McVicar

Abstract

Over the last 30 years many countries – including the UK – have seen a dramatic rise in the share of the working age population receiving sickness and disability benefits (hereafter disability benefits). This is despite health levels that are generally thought to be slowly improving. This paper describes the time path of UK disability benefit rolls and explores the existing UK literature together with literature from the USA in search of potential explanations for it. Since the early 1990s, despite a number of detailed descriptive studies, surprisingly little attention has been paid to quantifying the importance of the different factors believed to be driving the UK benefit roll growth. This is all the more surprising given the continued growth and the level of policy attention recently and currently devoted to disability benefits in the UK.

Suggested Citation

  • Duncan McVicar, 2008. "Why Have Uk Disability Benefit Rolls Grown So Much?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 114-139, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jecsur:v:22:y:2008:i:1:p:114-139
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00522.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00522.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00522.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haveman, Robert H. & Wolfe, Barbara L., 1984. "Disability transfers and early retirement: a casual relationship?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 47-66, June.
    2. Bound, John & Burkhauser, Richard V., 1999. "Economic analysis of transfer programs targeted on people with disabilities," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 51, pages 3417-3528, Elsevier.
    3. Paul Gregg & Jonathan Wadsworth, 2003. "Labour Market Prospects of Less Skilled Workers Over the Recovery," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Richard Dickens & Paul Gregg & Jonathan Wadsworth (ed.), The Labour Market Under New Labour, chapter 6, pages 86-97, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Alcock,Pete & Beatty,Christina & Fothergill,Stephen & MacMillan,Rob & Yeandle,Sue, 2003. "Work to Welfare," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521002868.
    5. Dan Black & Kermit Daniel & Seth Sanders, 2002. "The Impact of Economic Conditions on Participation in Disability Programs: Evidence from the Coal Boom and Bust," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 27-50, March.
    6. Currie, Janet & Madrian, Brigitte C., 1999. "Health, health insurance and the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 50, pages 3309-3416, Elsevier.
    7. Manning, Alan, 2009. "You can't always get what you want: The impact of the UK Jobseeker's Allowance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 239-250, June.
    8. Stephen P Jenkins & John A. Rigg, 2003. "Disability and Disadvantage: Selection, onset and duration effects," CASE Papers 074, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    9. Brian Bell & James Smith, 2004. "Health, disability insurance and labour force participation," Bank of England working papers 218, Bank of England.
    10. David H. Autor & Mark G. Duggan, 2003. "The Rise in the Disability Rolls and the Decline in Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 157-206.
    11. Parsons, Donald O, 1991. "Self-Screening in Targeted Public Transfer Programs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 859-876, August.
    12. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3417-3528 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Alcock,Pete & Beatty,Christina & Fothergill,Stephen & MacMillan,Rob & Yeandle,Sue, 2003. "Work to Welfare," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521802499.
    14. Espen Bratberg, 1999. "Disability Retirement in a Welfare State," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(1), pages 97-114, March.
    15. Robert Haveman & Philip de Jong & Barbara Wolfe, 1991. "Disability Transfers and the Work Decision of Older Men," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(3), pages 939-949.
    16. Brent Kreider & Regina T. Riphahn, 2000. "Explaining Applications to the U.S. Disability System: A Semiparametric Approach," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 35(1), pages 82-115.
    17. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 2002. "Hidden Unemployment Among Men: A Case Study," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(8), pages 811-823.
    18. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3309-3416 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Kreider, Brent, 1998. "Workers' Applications to Social Insurance Programs When Earnings and Eligibility Are Uncertain," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 848-877, October.
    20. Einar Bowitz, 1997. "Disability benefits, replacement ratios and the labour market. A time series approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 913-923.
    21. Blundell, Richard & Johnson, Paul, 1998. "Pensions and Labor-Market Participation in the United Kingdom," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 168-172, May.
    22. Gruber, Jonathan & Kubik, Jeffrey D., 1997. "Disability insurance rejection rates and the labor supply of older workers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 1-23, April.
    23. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill & Rob Macmillan, 2000. "A Theory of Employment, Unemployment and Sickness," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(7), pages 617-630, October.
    24. Tania Burchardt, 1999. "The Evolution of Disability Benefits in the UK: Re-weighting the basket," CASE Papers 026, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    25. Sven Wilson & Joseph Burton & Benjamin Howell, 2005. "Work and the Disability Transition in 20th Century America," NBER Working Papers 11036, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. John Bound & Timothy Waidmann, 2002. "Accounting for Recent Declines in Employment Rates among Working-Aged Men and Women with Disabilities," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(2), pages 231-250.
    27. Faggio, Giulia & Nickell, Stephen, 2005. "Inactivity among prime age men in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19912, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    28. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 1996. "Labour Market Adjustment in Areas of Chronic Industrial Decline: The Case of the UK Coalfields," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(7), pages 627-640.
    29. Disney, Richard & Webb, Steven, 1991. "Why Are There So Many Long Term Sick in Britain?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(405), pages 252-262, March.
    30. Tania Burchardt, 2000. "The Dynamics of Being Disabled," CASE Papers case36, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    31. Giulia Faggio & Stephen Nickell, 2003. "The Rise in Inactivity Among Adult Men," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Richard Dickens & Paul Gregg & Jonathan Wadsworth (ed.), The Labour Market Under New Labour, chapter 3, pages 40-52, Palgrave Macmillan.
    32. Michele Campolieti, 2004. "Disability Insurance Benefits and Labor Supply: Some Additional Evidence," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(4), pages 863-890, October.
    33. Richard Dickens & Paul Gregg & Jonathan Wadsworth (ed.), 2003. "The Labour Market Under New Labour," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-59845-4.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. M. Agovino & A. Rapposelli, 2017. "Speculation on a Flexicurity Index for Disabled People: The Italian Case," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 389-414, January.
    2. Pudney, Stephen, 2009. "Participation in disability benefit programmes: a partial identification analysis of the British Attendance Allowance system," ISER Working Paper Series 2009-19, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    3. Ruth Hancock & Marcello Morciano & Stephen Pudney & Francesca Zantomio, 2015. "Do household surveys give a coherent view of disability benefit targeting?: a multisurvey latent variable analysis for the older population in Great Britain," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 178(4), pages 815-836, October.
    4. Zouheir El-Sahli & Richard Upward, 2017. "Off the Waterfront: The Long-Run Impact of Technological Change on Dockworkers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 55(2), pages 225-273, June.
    5. Colin Lindsay & Donald Houston, 2011. "Fit for Purpose? Welfare Reform and Challenges for Health and Labour Market Policy in the UK," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(3), pages 703-721, March.
    6. Richard Burkhauser & Mary Daly & Duncan McVicar & Roger Wilkins, 2014. "Disability benefit growth and disability reform in the US: lessons from other OECD nations," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-30, December.
    7. Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2022. "New Evidence on Disability Benefit Claims in Britain: The Role of Health and the Local Labour Market," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(353), pages 131-160, January.
    8. Danacica, Daniela Emanuela & Cirnu, Doru, 2014. "Unemployment Duration and Exit States of Disabled People in Romania," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(1), pages 35-52, March.
    9. Hugo Benítez-Silva & Richard Disney & Sergi Jiménez-Martín, 2010. "Disability, capacity for work and the business cycle: an international perspective [Has the boom in incapacity benefit claimant numbers passed its peak?]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 25(63), pages 483-536.
    10. Octave De Brouwer & Elisabeth Leduc & Ilan Tojerow, 2019. "The Unexpected Consequences of Job Search Monitoring: Disability Instead of Employment ?," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/340666, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Maja Prudzienica, 2012. "Disabled Persons on Labour Market - Analysis of Solutions in Poland and Selected EU Countries," MIC 2012: Managing Transformation with Creativity; Proceedings of the 13th International Conference, Budapest, 22–24 November 2012 [Selected Papers],, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper.
    12. Ossi Korkeamäki & Tomi Kyyrä, 2012. "Institutional rules, labour demand and retirement through disability programme participation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 439-468, January.
    13. Robert P. Hagemann, 2012. "Fiscal Consolidation: Part 6. What Are the Best Policy Instruments for Fiscal Consolidation?," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 937, OECD Publishing.
    14. Nagymate, Nora, 2013. "Relationship Between The Qualification And Labour Market Situation Of Disabled Workers In Hungary," APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, AGRIMBA, vol. 6(5), pages 1-3, April.
    15. Melanie K Jones & Duncan McVicar, 2022. "The dynamics of disability and benefit receipt in Britain [Large sample properties of matching estimators for average treatment effects]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 936-957.
    16. Roberts, Jennifer & Taylor, Karl, 2019. "New Evidence on Disability Benefit Claims in the UK: The Role of Health and the Local Labour Market," IZA Discussion Papers 12825, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Christina Beatty & Steve Fothergill, 2023. "The persistence of hidden unemployment among incapacity claimants in large parts of Britain," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(1), pages 42-60, February.
    18. Pudney, Stephen, 2010. "Disability benefits for older people: how does the UK Attendance Allowance system really work?," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-02, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    19. Zantomio, Francesca, 2013. "Older people's participation in extra-cost disability benefits," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 320-330.
    20. Massimiliano Agovino & Giuliana Parodi, 2015. "Human Development and the Determinants of the Incidence of Civilian Disability Pensions in Italy: A Spatial Panel Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 553-576, June.
    21. Enrica Croda & Jonathan Skinner & Laura Yasaitis, 2018. "The Health of Disability Insurance Enrollees: An International Comparison," Working Papers 2018:28, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duncan McVicar, 2006. "Why do disability benefit rolls vary between regions? A review of the evidence from the USA and the UK," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 519-533.
    2. Hugo Benítez-Silva & Richard Disney & Sergi Jiménez-Martín, 2010. "Disability, capacity for work and the business cycle: an international perspective [Has the boom in incapacity benefit claimant numbers passed its peak?]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 25(63), pages 483-536.
    3. Barbara Hanel, 2010. "Disability Pensions and Labor Supply," Working Papers 086, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    4. Burkhauser, Richard V. & Butler, J. S. & Gumus, Gulcin, 2003. "Dynamic Modeling of the SSDI Application Timing Decision: The Importance of Policy Variables," IZA Discussion Papers 942, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2022. "New Evidence on Disability Benefit Claims in Britain: The Role of Health and the Local Labour Market," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(353), pages 131-160, January.
    6. Hanel, Barbara, 2012. "The effect of disability pension incentives on early retirement decisions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 595-607.
    7. Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2019. "New evidence on disability benefit claims in the UK: The role of health and local labour market," Working Papers 2019021, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    8. Bratsberg, Bernt & Fevang, Elisabeth & Røed, Knut, 2013. "Job loss and disability insurance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 137-150.
    9. Lahiri, Kajal & Song, Jae & Wixon, Bernard, 2008. "A model of Social Security Disability Insurance using matched SIPP/Administrative data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1-2), pages 4-20, July.
    10. Pilar García-Gómez & Hans-Martin Gaudecker & Maarten Lindeboom, 2011. "Health, disability and work: patterns for the working age population," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(2), pages 146-165, April.
    11. Zantomio, Francesca, 2013. "Older people's participation in extra-cost disability benefits," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 320-330.
    12. Andreas Haller & Stefan Staubli & Josef Zweimüller, 2024. "Designing Disability Insurance Reforms: Tightening Eligibility Rules or Reducing Benefits?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 92(1), pages 79-110, January.
    13. Mari Rege & Kjetil Telle & Mark Votruba, 2009. "The Effect of Plant Downsizing on Disability Pension Utilization," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(4), pages 754-785, June.
    14. Bound, John & Stinebrickner, Todd & Waidmann, Timothy, 2010. "Health, economic resources and the work decisions of older men," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 156(1), pages 106-129, May.
    15. Meyer, Bruce D. & Mok, Wallace K.C., 2019. "Disability, earnings, income and consumption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 51-69.
    16. Bruce Meyer & Wallace K. C. Mok, 2016. "Disability, Earnings, Income and Consumption," NBER Chapters, in: Social Insurance Programs (Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar, TAPES), National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Merkuryeva Irina, 2007. "The system of disability benefits in Russia. Estimation of targeting accuracy," EERC Working Paper Series 07-04e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    18. Michele Campolieti & James Goldenberg, 2007. "Disability Insurance Denial Rates and the Labor Force Participation of Older Men and Women in Canada," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 35(1), pages 59-75, March.
    19. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3417-3528 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Chiara Dal Bianco, 2019. "Labour Supply and Welfare Effects of Disability Insurance: A Survey," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 5(1), pages 161-189, March.
    21. Burkhauser, Richard V. & Butler, J. S. & Gumus, Gulcin, 2003. "Option Value and Dynamic Programming Model Estimates of Social Security Disability Insurance Application Timing," IZA Discussion Papers 941, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jecsur:v:22:y:2008:i:1:p:114-139. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0950-0804 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.