Reconciling findings on the employment effect of disability insurance

The Declining Labor Market Prospects of Less-Educated Men

Over the last half century, US wage growth stagnated, wage inequality rose, and the labor-force participation rate of prime-age men steadily declined. In this article, we examine these worrying labor market trends, focusing on outcomes for males without a college education. Though wages and participation have fallen in tandem for this population, we argue that the canonical neoclassical framework, which postulates a labor demand curve shifting inward across a stable labor supply curve, does not reasonably explain the data. Alternatives we discuss include adjustment frictions associated with labor demand shocks and effects of the changing marriage market—that is, the fact that fewer less-educated men are forming their own stable families—on male labor supply incentives. In the synthesis that emerges, the phenomenon of declining prime-age male labor-force participation is not coherently explained by a series of causal factors acting separately. A more reasonable interpretation, we argue, involves complex feedbacks between labor demand, family structure, and other factors that have disproportionately affected less-educated men.

People with disabilities in the United States

A recent compilation of published disability statistics available for the United States showcases the pervasive and persistent disparities that exist between people with and without disabilities across multiple fronts, including employment, earnings, poverty, and participation in safety net programs. Understanding the relevance of these statistics within the current policy environment can help guide further innovations to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in the United States.