Publications

Working Papers

Early-Onset Disability, Education Investments, and Social Insurance (Job Market Paper) [Link to latest draft ]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the insurance incentive tradeoff of labor market social insurance policy with respect to pre-market human capital investments, focusing on the disparity in post-secondary education attainment between individuals with early-onset disabilities (occurring before age 19) and their non-disabled peers. I develop a dynamic life-cycle model, integrating education and labor supply, to analyze how labor market social insurance policies may contribute to this education gap. Using linked Canadian survey and administrative tax data, I estimate the model and decompose the education gap, highlighting the influence of policy-induced dynamic disincentives. The primary factor contributing to the gap is the impact of disability on human capital development. However, policy-related dynamic disincentives also play a substantial role, accounting for 20% of the educational disparity. Policy experiments suggest that while reducing social insurance benefits may encourage educational pursuits and cut government expenses, it dramatically reduces individual welfare. In contrast, policies aimed at promoting educational investment in individuals with early-onset disabilities, such as consumption subsidies during post-secondary education, enhance their welfare, earnings, and employment prospects. This ultimately counterbalances the initial policy costs.

The Dynamic Effects of Disability Types: Incomes, Employment, and Partial Insurance  [Draft]

 Abstract:  This study analyzes the longitudinal effects of disability onset, differentiating disability types based on the activities they impair. It employs Canadian survey data linked with administrative tax filings to estimate disability type-specific effects on disaggregated incomes in the ten years following onset, contrasting heterogeneity in effects, and identifying partial insurance gaps across types. Generally, mental-cognitive types are more detrimental to market incomes than physical types and are less insured via disability transfer programs, instead relying on other sources of income insurance. A welfare analysis of these results suggests that disability benefits are suboptimal for several types, especially mental health-related disability. 

Works in Progress

Estimating a Process of Health Formation in Older Adults: The Roles of Physical Functioning, Cognition, and Mental Health. (with Steven Stern).

Abstract: In this paper, we develop a model to examine the dynamic process of health formation in older adults. Health is modeled as a vector of latent components, each evolving according to a transition process that captures dynamic complementarities among components and the influence of external factors, such as health investments and economic conditions. Considering an application which specifies health components related to physical functioning, cognitive functioning, and mental health, we estimate the transition process using a comprehensive set of health measures from the Health and Retirement Study. Preliminary results indicate positive dynamic complementarities across health components. Physical functioning emerges as the most persistent component and a sizable determinant of mental health. As for outcomes, cognitive functioning is associated with the highest medical expenses in retirement. 

Educational Investments, Family Resources, and the Dynamic Disincentive of Social Security. (with Steven Stern).

Distortionary Effects of Means-tested Welfare on Durable Consumption and Asset Accumulation. (with Taek Keun Lee)

The Effect of Worker’s Compensation Claims on Disability Insurance. (With Rory McGee)

Other Projects

The Labour Market Consequences of Disability: Types, Severity, Persistence, and Onset [Link]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the vast variation in labor market outcomes across disabilities by representing disability as a bundle of characteristics. Rich with information on the characteristics of a disabling condition, I use the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey to compare the relative importance of each characteristic and their interactions on employment, wages, hours worked, and annual employment income. The set of disability characteristics includes the type of activity limitation, number of limitations, timing of onset, severity, and duration. I find substantial cross-sectional variation in labor supply, wages, and annual earnings across the activity limitations. Severity is most predictive of labor supply, while persistence, given by the duration of disability, is predictive of all outcomes. Cognitive types of disabilities have more impact on wages than physical. Lastly, I find the timing of onset has important implications for wages and annual income. My results are consistent with disabilities that onset by age eighteen inflicting additional wage penalties through reduced skill accumulation.