IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v151y2020i1d10.1007_s11205-020-02379-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rising Income Inequality Through a Disability Lens: Trends in the United States 1981–2018

Author

Listed:
  • Katie M. Jajtner

    (University of Wisconsin – Madison)

  • Sophie Mitra

    (Fordham University)

  • Christine Fountain

    (Fordham University)

  • Austin Nichols

    (Abt Associates)

Abstract

Objectives In a context of rising income inequality and policies to improve rights and inclusion for persons with disabilities, this paper examines income inequality trends by household work limitation status in the United States from 1981–2018. Methods Data comes from the March Supplement of the Current Population Survey using the work limitation disability measure to estimate decomposable Generalized Entropy measures of income inequality, and progressivity of government transfers and disability payments. Results Over the 1981–2018 period, inequality within the group of households with work limitations has been around 30% higher than inequality within the group of households without work limitations. Both households with and without work limitations have seen a similar 70% rise in income inequality since 1981. Progressivity of government transfers and disability payments increased among households with limitations, but not among other households. Conclusions Income inequality is higher within the group of households with work limitations compared to other households and has been rising for both groups. Policies aimed to enhance the economic and social participation of persons with disabilities over this period may have mitigated this rising trend. Disability considerations should be part of research and policy on income inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Katie M. Jajtner & Sophie Mitra & Christine Fountain & Austin Nichols, 2020. "Rising Income Inequality Through a Disability Lens: Trends in the United States 1981–2018," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 81-114, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:151:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-020-02379-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-020-02379-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-020-02379-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-020-02379-8?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Lemieux, 2006. "Postsecondary Education and Increasing Wage Inequality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 195-199, May.
    2. Jeff Larrimore, 2014. "Accounting for United States Household Income Inequality Trends: The Changing Importance of Household Structure and Male and Female Labor Earnings Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(4), pages 683-701, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Richard Burkhauser & Mary Daly & Andrew Houtenville & Nigar Nargis, 2002. "Self-reported work-limitation data: What they can and cannot tell US," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 39(3), pages 541-555, August.
    5. Manasi Deshpande & Tal Gross & Yalun Su, 2019. "Disability and Distress: The Effect of Disability Programs on Financial Outcomes," Working Papers 2019-020, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    6. Nicole Maestas & Kathleen J. Mullen & Alexander Strand, 2013. "Does Disability Insurance Receipt Discourage Work? Using Examiner Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1797-1829, August.
    7. Shorrocks, Anthony F, 1984. "Inequality Decomposition by Population Subgroups," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(6), pages 1369-1385, November.
    8. Daron Acemoglu & Joshua D. Angrist, 2001. "Consequences of Employment Protection? The Case of the Americans with Disabilities Act," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(5), pages 915-957, October.
    9. Bruce D. Meyer & Wallace K. C. Mok & James X. Sullivan, 2009. "The Under-Reporting of Transfers in Household Surveys: Its Nature and Consequences," NBER Working Papers 15181, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. repec:mpr:mprres:5685 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. R. A. Musgrave & Tun Thin, 1948. "Income Tax Progression, 1929-48," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(6), pages 498-498.
    12. David H. Autor & Mark G. Duggan, 2006. "The Growth in the Social Security Disability Rolls: A Fiscal Crisis Unfolding," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(3), pages 71-96, Summer.
    13. Arthur van Soest & Tatiana Andreyeva & Arie Kapteyn & James P. Smith, 2011. "Self-Reported Disability and Reference Groups," NBER Chapters, in: Investigations in the Economics of Aging, pages 237-264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Meyer, Bruce D. & Mok, Wallace K.C., 2019. "Disability, earnings, income and consumption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 51-69.
    15. Black, Nicole & Johnston, David W. & Suziedelyte, Agne, 2017. "Justification bias in self-reported disability: New evidence from panel data," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 124-134.
    16. David R. Mann & David C. Wittenburg, 2015. "Starting Behind: Wage and Employment Differentials Between Young Adults With and Without Disabilities (Journal Article)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 443aad36f7a9431ba4867ce64, Mathematica Policy Research.
    17. David H. Autor, 2015. "The unsustainable rise of the disability rolls in the United States: causes, consequences and policy options," Chapters, in: John Karl Scholz & Hyungypo Moon & Sang-Hyup Lee (ed.), Social Policies in an Age of Austerity, chapter 5, pages 107-136, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Peiyun She & Gina A. Livermore, 2007. "Material Hardship, Poverty, and Disability Among Working‐Age Adults," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(4), pages 970-989, December.
    19. Debra L. Brucker & Sophie Mitra & Navena Chaitoo & Joseph Mauro, 2015. "More Likely to Be Poor Whatever the Measure: Working-Age Persons with Disabilities in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(1), pages 273-296, March.
    20. Mason Ameri & Lisa Schur & Meera Adya & F. Scott Bentley & Patrick McKay & Douglas Kruse, 2018. "The Disability Employment Puzzle: A Field Experiment on Employer Hiring Behavior," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(2), pages 329-364, March.
    21. Marjorie L. Baldwin & Chung Choe, 2014. "Re-examining the models used to estimate disability-related wage discrimination," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(12), pages 1393-1408, April.
    22. Carla Canelas & Rachel M. Gisselquist, 2019. "Horizontal Inequality and Data Challenges," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 157-172, May.
    23. Carla Canelas & Rachel M. Gisselquist, 2019. "Correction to: Horizontal Inequality and Data Challenges," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 969-984, October.
    24. Carla Canelas & Rachel M Gisselquist, 2019. "Horizontal Inequality and Data Challenges," Post-Print hal-02866746, HAL.
    25. Cowell, Frank A & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1995. "How Much Inequality Can We Explain? A Methodology and an Application to the United States," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(429), pages 421-430, March.
    26. Kakwani, Nanok C, 1977. "Measurement of Tax Progressivity: An International Comparison," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 87(345), pages 71-80, March.
    27. Peiyun She & Gina A. Livermore, "undated". "Material Hardship, Poverty, and Disability Among Working-Age Adults," Mathematica Policy Research Reports fb2c5aebc38446e3ab7f48e96, Mathematica Policy Research.
    28. Zachary Parolin, 2019. "The Effect of Benefit Underreporting on Estimates of Poverty in the United States," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 869-898, July.
    29. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Melissa S. Kearney, 2008. "Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Revising the Revisionists," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(2), pages 300-323, May.
    30. Douglas Kruse & Lisa Schur & Sean Rogers & Mason Ameri, 2018. "Why Do Workers with Disabilities Earn Less? Occupational Job Requirements and Disability Discrimination," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 798-834, December.
    31. Blau Francine D & Kahn Lawrence M, 2007. "The Gender Pay Gap," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 4(4), pages 1-6, June.
    32. Carla Canelas & Rachel M Gisselquist, 2019. "Horizontal Inequality and Data Challenges," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02866746, HAL.
    33. Lambert, Peter J, 1985. "On the Redistributive Effect of Taxes and Benefits," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 32(1), pages 39-54, February.
    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. Garrett Anstreicher, 2021. "Does increasing health care access reduce disability insurance caseloads? Evidence from the rural United States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 786-802, April.
    2. Melanie Jones & Kim Hoque & Victoria Wass & Nick Bacon, 2021. "Inequality and the Economic Cycle: Disabled Employees’ Experience of Work during the Great Recession in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 788-815, September.

    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. Hamish Low & Luigi Pistaferri, 2020. "Disability Insurance: Theoretical Trade‐Offs and Empirical Evidence," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 129-164, March.
    2. Meyer, Bruce D. & Mok, Wallace K.C., 2019. "Disability, earnings, income and consumption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 51-69.
    3. 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.
    4. Kevin F. Hallock & Xin Jin & Michael Waldman, 2022. "The total compensation gap, wage gap and benefit gap between workers with and without a disability," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 3-31, March.
    5. Muhammad Qahraman Kakar, 2021. "Ethnic Disparities, Women Education and Empowerment in South Asia," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph21-01 edited by Manon Domingues Dos Santos.
    6. David Autor & Andreas Kostøl & Magne Mogstad & Bradley Setzler, 2019. "Disability Benefits, Consumption Insurance, and Household Labor Supply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2613-2654, July.
    7. Gordon B. Dahl & Andreas Ravndal Kostøl & Magne Mogstad, 2014. "Family Welfare Cultures," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1711-1752.
    8. Kim, Soojin & Rhee, Serena, 2018. "Measuring the effects of employment protection policies: Theory and evidence from the Americans with Disabilities Act," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 116-134.
    9. Arthur Seibold & Sebastian Seitz & Sebastian Siegloch, 2022. "Privatizing Disability Insurance," CESifo Working Paper Series 9979, CESifo.
    10. Bruce D. Meyer & Wallace K. C. Mok, 2017. "Disability, Taxes, Transfers, and the Economic Well-Being of Women," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 32, pages 211-253, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Melanie Jones, 2021. "Disability and labor market outcomes," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 253-253, March.
    12. Richard V. Burkhauser & Mary C. Daly & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2016. "Protecting working-age people with disabilities: experiences of four industrialized nations [Absicherung von Personen mit Erwerbsminderung: Erfahrungen aus vier Industrieländern]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(4), pages 367-386, December.
    13. 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.
    14. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark, 2013. "Food Insecurity Among Households With Working-Age Adults With Disabilities," Economic Research Report 142955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    15. Katie Jajtner & Matt Messel & Jason Fletcher, 2023. "Social Security Disability Insurance and intergenerational economic mobility," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(4), pages 575-593, October.
    16. Siha Lee, 2023. "Spousal Labor Supply, Caregiving, and the Value of Disability Insurance," Department of Economics Working Papers 2020-08, McMaster University.
    17. Lucie Schmidt & Lara Shore-Sheppard & Tara Watson, 2016. "The Effect of Safety-Net Programs on Food Insecurity," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(3), pages 589-614.
    18. Clifford Afoakwah & Xin Deng & Ilke Onur, 2023. "Reforms and education inequality in Ghana," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 853-878, May.
    19. Leila Bengali & Mary C. Daly & Olivia Lofton & Robert G. Valletta, 2021. "The Economic Status of People with Disabilities and Their Families since the Great Recession," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 695(1), pages 123-142, May.
    20. Nolan, Matt, 2018. "Horizontal and Vertical Equity in the New Zealand Tax-Transfer System: 1988-2013," Working Paper Series 7657, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.

    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:spr:soinre:v:151:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-020-02379-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.