Black, B., French, E., McCauley, J., Song, J.

The Effect of Disability Insurance Receipt on Mortality

CWPE2375

Abstract: This paper estimates the effect of Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income receipt on mortality for individuals on the margin of being allowed versus denied benefits. Exploiting the random assignment of administrative law judges to disability insurance cases, we find that benefit allowance increases 10-year mortality rates by 2.8 percentage points for marginal beneficiaries. However, using a Marginal Treatment Effects approach, we and evidence that benefit receipt reduces mortality for inframarginal beneficiaries, who are typically less healthy than marginal beneficiaries. Furthermore, we find suggestive evidence that allowance reduces mortality among those with expensive health conditions such as cancer.

Keywords: Disability, Benefits, Mortality

JEL Codes: H51 H55 I12 I13 J14 J22

Author links: Eric French  

PDF: https://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/research-files/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe2375.pdf

Open Access Link: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.104887

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