There is no conflict of interest.
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine whether stronger state disability and age discrimination laws reduced the extent to which the Social Security Act of 1983 (SSA1983)—which raised the Social Security program’s full benefits retirement age—increased Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applications, SSDI receipt, and levels of employment for adults over the age of 55.
- The study used a difference-in-differences research design to examine whether the impact of SSA1983 on SSDI applications, SSDI receipt, and employment was moderated by state disability and age discrimination laws. The authors used SSDI application and receipt data from Form-831 Social Security Administration disability records, data on state disability discrimination laws, data on state age discrimination laws, the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, and data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The authors used these data to estimate a statistical model that compared outcomes for individuals with and without disabilities, before and after the implementation of SSA1983, living in states that did or did not have various forms of disability and age discrimination laws.
- The study did not detect statistically significant differences in how the effect of SSA1983 varied by existing state disability and age discrimination laws.
- The study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to state disability and age discrimination laws, but other factors might also have contributed. However, the study did not detect any statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Features of the Intervention
The authors examined and coded state disability and age discrimination laws from 1992 to 2000. The authors compared state laws to baseline federal regulations from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA) across three dimensions—lower firm size, larger damages, and medical definitions of disability.
The ADA applies to firms with at least 15 employees, and the ADEA applies to firms with at least 20 employees. However, some state laws apply to smaller companies. States where ADA and ADEA regulations applied to firms with fewer than 10 employees were coded as having a firm size component to their discrimination laws.
Additionally, some states have higher caps than the ADA or ADEA for compensatory and punitive damages for violating employment discrimination laws. Higher caps make violations more costly to employers. States with higher damage award caps were coded as having larger damages (disability) or larger damages (age) components to their discrimination laws.
Finally, some states use a broader definition of "disability" than the ADA, considering individuals to be disabled under state law if they have a diagnosed medical condition. This increases the number of individuals covered by anti-discrimination laws. States where diagnosed medical conditions were sufficient to meet the definition of disability were coded as having a medical definition of disability component to their discrimination laws.
Features of the Study
The study used a difference-in-differences research design to examine whether the impact of SSA1983 on SSDI applications, SSDI receipt, and employment was moderated by state disability and age discrimination laws. The authors reviewed and coded state disability and age discrimination laws in 50 states from 1992-2000.
The authors used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and merged Form-831 Social Security Administration disability records to conduct an individual-level analysis of whether state disability and age discrimination laws moderated the impact of SSA1983 for individuals over the age of 55. The authors used twelve waves of HRS survey data collected from 1992 to 2014.
The authors used a statistical model to compare outcomes of individuals living in states with and without stronger state disability and age discrimination laws, for age cohorts who were affected by SSA1983 compared to age cohorts unaffected by SSA1983. The cohorts affected by SSA1983 were born between 1938-1951 and the cohorts unaffected by SSA1983 were born between 1931-1937.
Findings
Public benefits receipt
- The study did not detect a statistically significant association between any of the coded state discrimination law components and rates of SSDI applications or SSDI receipt.
Employment
- The study did not detect a statistically significant association between any of the coded state discrimination law components and rates of employment.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors conducted their analysis using two samples.
As described above, the authors used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and merged Form-831 Social Security Administration disability records to conduct an individual-level analysis of whether state disability and age discrimination laws moderated the impact of SSA1983.
The authors also used aggregated data on SSDI applications and receipts to conduct a state-level analysis of whether state disability and age discrimination laws moderated the impact of SSA1983.
This profile summarized findings from the individual-level analysis, which received a moderate causal evidence rating. After adjusting for the large number of statistical tests conducted, this analysis did not detect any statistically significant moderating effects of state-level discrimination laws on the impact of SSA1983.
Findings from the state-level analysis, which received a low causal evidence rating, were generally consistent with the null findings from the individual-level analysis. However, this analysis did detect one statistically significant association: states with medical definitions of disability did not experience an increase in SSDI applications following the implementation of SSA1983. This finding was not replicated in the individual-level analysis.
Causal Evidence Rating
Research Guidelines
Review Protocol: Living Systematic Annual Search and Review Protocol
Review Guidelines: Causal Evidence Guidelines