A Penny Saved Is Mobility Earned

Analyzes data on how one's or one's parents' level of savings affects economic mobility, by income; examines savings incentives and disincentives in the federal tax code and public assistance programs; and recommends policy options to encourage savings

Is Any Job Better than No Job? Labor Market Experiences and Depressive Symptoms in People Living with HIV

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the psychosocial work environment and labor market experiences (including unemployment) on mental health among adults living with HIV. We used data provided by 538 participants at clinical and community sites across Ontario, Canada. Generalized estimating equation models showed that employment was associated with lower depressive symptoms. For employed participants, adverse psychosocial work conditions, specifically job insecurity, psychological demands, and decision authority were associated with depressive symptoms. For the entire sample, the number of adverse psychosocial work conditions was associated with higher depressive symptoms while participants working in poor quality jobs reported similar levels of depressive symptoms than those who were unemployed or not in the labor force. This study showed that poor quality employment (as assessed by having a high number of adverse psychosocial work exposures) was associated with a similar level of depressive symptoms as unemployment, suggesting that “bad jobs” may not offer the same mental health benefits as “good jobs.” Policies to improve employment outcomes should take the quality of employment into account to maximize mental health benefits as better employment may lead to better mental health

WI19-01: Economic Opportunity and Labor Force Participation

Economic Opportunity and Labor Force ParticipationBoth self-reported disability and receipt of federal disability assistance (SSI and SSDI) vary substantially across U.S. counties. This project examines whether and to what extent spatial variation in economic opportunity—operationalized using place-based estimates of intergenerational economic mobility for a recent cohort—can help us account for variation in disability across counties and within counties over time. Specifically, this project examines three key research questions: 1. Is there an association between local area economic opportunity and labor force participation? 2. Is there an association between local area economic opportunity, self-reported disability status, and receipt of federal disability assistance (SSI and SSDI)? 3. Does local area economic opportunity moderate the relationship between labor demand, self-reported disability status, and receipt of SSI/SSDI? We find that areas characterized by low economic opportunity have higher rates of self-reported disability and disability assistance receipt, net of local area sociodemographic and economic characteristics. We also find evidence that economic opportunity moderates the relationship between business cycle dynamics and disability; following an increase in unemployment, self-reported disability rates and receipt of SSDI increase more in low-opportunity areas than in high-opportunity areas. These findings have implications for projecting future demand for disability assistance across counties in response to business cycle dynamics and may be instructive for efforts to detail the pathways linking labor demand, labor force participation, and demand for disability assistanceCenter for Financial Security, Retirement & Disability Consortium, U.S. Social Security Administration

Declining Economic Opportunity, Rising Overdose Rates, & DI Receipt

This study investigates the role of fading economic opportunity in two significant trends faced by working-age adults in the United States: worsening mortality rates (particularly from drug overdoses) and rising rates of application to SSDI and SSI programs.Recent work has demonstrated rising drug overdose mortality following industrial decline due to exposure to foreign trade. Despite experiencing similar declines in manufacturing-sector opportunities, some areas of the United States have fared better than others with regards to both opioid overdose mortality and shares of workers claiming disability. This project aims to examine whether the relationship between declining economic opportunities in the manufacturing sector between 1999-2016 and both opioid overdose mortality and rising application and receipt of disability benefits varied across different local areas. We also aim to identify underlying socioeconomic, health sector, and policy factors that drive the different responses to economic decline. Specifically, the project will answer the following questions: Do areas vary in the extent to which opioid overdose mortality and disability benefit application and receipt rates rise as a consequence of manufacturing industry decline? Which socioeconomic and policy factors explain why opioid overdose mortality and SSI/SSDI application and receipt rise in some areas more than others following a similar decline in manufacturing employment opportunities? Answers to these questions have implications for the design and implementation of policies to alleviate worsening population health and disability in areas experiencing economic changes.Center for Financial Security, Retirement and Disability Research Consortium, U.S. Social Security Administration