Summary

This paper advances an analytic method to analyzing the total affect, each direct and oblique, of disparities by race, ethnicity and gender utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM) and demonstrates its empirical utility for adults ages 55-64 throughout a spread of outcomes associated to incapacity, Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage (SSDI) functions, and SSDI participation.

The paper discovered that:

• Primarily based on survival evaluation, non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics are at larger danger of changing into disabled than non-Hispanic whites, however conditional on being disabled, there isn’t a substantial distinction within the danger of making use of for and receiving SSDI advantages by race and ethnicity.  Ladies and men appear to observe comparable patterns with respect to their danger of changing into disabled and making use of for and receiving SSDI advantages.
• Specializing in the direct hyperlink solely and controlling for demographic and socioeconomic elements, we discover that the chance of changing into disabled or making use of for SSDI advantages doesn’t differ by race, ethnicity or gender.  Accounting for each direct and oblique pathways, nevertheless, we discover that every one folks of shade are considerably extra probably than non-Hispanic whites to grow to be disabled and non-Hispanic Blacks usually tend to apply for SSDI advantages.
• Total, the likelihoods of experiencing a brand new incapacity, being disabled, and receiving SSDI advantages are considerably and statistically considerably larger for folks of shade than for his or her non-Hispanic white friends.  Moreover, non-Hispanic Black older adults have an elevated danger of making use of for and taking on SSDI advantages.
• In distinction, even accounting for oblique hyperlinks, variations between ladies and men stay restricted, with ladies being considerably extra more likely to be disabled however much less more likely to obtain SSDI advantages.

The coverage implications of the findings are:

• The appliance of SEM methodology can advance SSA’s understanding of the total affect of disparities by race, ethnicity and intercourse on a spread of outcomes and display the extent to which conventional modeling approaches might misrepresent these disparities.