Who Is Screened Out? Application Costs and the Targeting of Disability Programs

Manasi Deshpande and Yue Li

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2019, vol. 11, issue 4, 213-48

Abstract: We study the effect of application costs on the targeting of disability programs. We identify these effects using the closings of Social Security Administration field offices, which provide assistance with filing disability applications. Closings lead to a persistent 16 percent decline in the number of disability recipients in surrounding areas, with the largest effects for applicants with moderately severe conditions and low education levels. Disability applications fall by only 10 percent, implying that the closings reduce targeting efficiency based on current eligibility standards. Increased congestion at neighboring offices appears more important as a channel than higher travel or information costs.

JEL-codes: H55 I13 I18 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20180076
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (195)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180076 (application/pdf)
https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180076.data (application/zip)
https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180076.appx (application/pdf)
https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180076.ds (application/zip)
Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: Who Is Screened Out? Application Costs and the Targeting of Disability Programs (2017)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:213-48

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/subscriptions

Access Statistics for this article

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy is currently edited by Matthew Shapiro

More articles in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().