Disability Research Consortium (DRC) Annual Meeting 2016

Millions of people with disabilities rely on a system of government programs designed to help them supplement their income and meet the challenges of getting an education, finding employment, and maintaining good health. But the cost and complexity of the U.S. system present their own major challenges, both for policymakers who seek to meet rising needs with limited resources and for beneficiaries who experience a fragmented provision of services and poor health and economic outcomes. The Disability Research Consortium (DRC) is building the evidence base on this issue to improve the national disability support system, improve the lives of people with disabilities, and reduce government spending in the long term.

This conference highlights the DRC's latest research findings and their implications for the future of state and federal disability policies and programs. Representatives of federal agencies that administer programs for people with disabilities shared their insights. 

View the schedule and time details for the 2016 DRC Annual Meeting.

Panel 1: Drivers of Disability Rolls

Moderator – David Autor

• Long-Term Determinants of Disability Receipt

Raj Chetty (Stanford University and NBER), John Friedman (Brown University and NBER), Ithai Lurie (US Treasury-Office of Tax Analysis), and Magne Mogstad (University of Chicago and NBER)

Discussant: Robert Weathers (Social Security Administration)

• Disability Insurance and Life-cycle Labor Supply: Evidence from a Discontinuity in Disability Eligibility

Andreas Haller (University of Zurich), Stefan Staubli (University of Calgary) and Josef Zweimueller (University of Zurich)

Discussant: Alexander Strand (Social Security Administration)

• What Can We Learn from County-Level Variation in Child SSI?

Purvi Sevak (Mathematica) and Lucie Schmidt (Williams College)

Discussant: Manasi Deshpande (University of Chicago and NBER)

Panel 2: Entry and Exit onto Disability Insurance

Moderator – David Stapleton

• The Role of Attorneys in the Disability Determination Process

Hilary Hoynes (University of California Berkeley & NBER), Nicole Maestas (Harvard Medical School & NBER), and Alexander Strand (Social Security Administration)

Discussant: John Friedman (Brown University and NBER)

• Who Are We Screening Out? Application Costs and the Targeting of Disability Programs

Manasi Deshpande (University of Chicago and NBER) and Yue Li (University at Albany, State University of New York)

Discussant: Kathleen Mullen (RAND)

• Pathways Taken By New Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Awardees

Priyanka Anand and Yonatan Ben-Shalom (Mathematica)

Discussant: Paul Davies (Social Security Administration)

Luncheon Speaker: David A. Weaver, Associate Commissioner for Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support (ORDES) at SSA

“Social Security, Disability, and Return to Work”

Panel 3: Wellbeing of People with Disabilities

Moderator – Nicole Maestas

• The Material Well-being of Disabled Retirees: Evidence from the PSID

Bruce Meyer (University of Chicago) and Wallace Mok (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Discussant: Jody Schimmel Hyde (Mathematica)

• SSI and SSDI Beneficiaries with Intellectual Disabilities

Maura Bardos, Karen Katz, and Gina Livermore (Mathematica)

Discussant: Stephen Goss (Social Security Administration)

• The Relationship Between Youth Services and Adult Outcomes Among Former Child SSI Recipients

Michelle Bailey (Social Security Administration), Jeffrey Hemmeter (Social Security Administration), and Denise Hoffman (Mathematica)

Discussant: Stefan Staubli (University of Calgary)

Panel 4: Interactions Between Health Insurance and Disability Insurance

Moderator – Gina Livermore

• The Impact of ACA Medicaid Expansions on Applications to Federal Disability Programs

Priyanka Anand, Margaret Colby, & Lauren Hula, Jody Schimmel Hyde (Mathematica), and Paul O’Leary (Social Security Administration)

Discussant: Kosali Simon (Indiana University and NBER)

• Quantifying the Health Insurance Needs of Employed and Potentially Employed Persons with Disabilities

Alexis Henry, Jack Gettens, and Pei Pei Lei (UMass Medical School)

Discussant: Harold Pollack (University of Chicago

Medical Care, Work, and Income Before Disability Application

David Cutler (Harvard University) and Ellen Meara (Dartmouth)

Discussant: Michelle Bailey (Social Security Administration)