Wage Discrimination Against Workers with Sensory Disabilities

Abstract

We link information on occupation‐specific job demands to data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to provide first‐ever estimates of wage discrimination against workers with sensory disabilities. Estimates are derived from wage models that control for job demands related to sensory abilities, and interactions between job demands and workers' sensory limitations. Results indicate approximately one third (one tenth) of the male (female) disability‐related wage differential is potentially attributed to discrimination. The results differ from estimates of discrimination against workers with physical disabilities obtained with similar methods, underscoring the importance of accounting for heterogeneity of the disabled population in discrimination studies.

Wage subsidies and hiring chances for the disabled: some causal evidence

“…As a result, the regression coefficients for disability and wage subsidy entitlement disclosure are identical to those of regression (2). In addition, we observe that unequal treatment is most to the detriment of deaf candidates applying for the occupation of informatician and the occupation of electrician and autistic candidates applying for the occupation of accountant.…”

“…The disabilities revealed in our experiment (blindness, deafness or autism) therefore automatically translate into eligibility for the FSS. As a consequence, within the context of our experiment, being granted the subsidy is in no way a reflection of the severity of the disability, as all people suffering from blindness, deafness and autism obtain 4 During the last two decades, academics have provided evidence for labour market discrimination against disabled persons in the United States, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Canada and France [2,13,15,17,25,26,33]. the FSS when claimed.…”

“…Following classical economic assumptions, wage subsidies make disabled employment cheaper; therefore, one could expect a positive effect of these subsidies on the hiring chances of the disabled. 2 However, at the same time, employers may perceive these subsidies as a signal of lower productivity -they may perceive disabled individuals who disclose this entitlement as "severe cases" [11].…”

“…First, Datta Gupta and Larsen [10] evaluated the Danish Flexjob scheme, which entitles employers to a 1 In addition, hourly wages and training opportunities are also lower among disabled employees [3,9,13,37,38]. 2 Within the classical competitive framework in which wages and employment are formed by a confrontation of labour supply and labour demand, wage subsidies will shift out the labour demand curve for the targeted workers. This is the case as employers take into account the total labour costs when making their hiring decision.…”

Disability and labor market outcomes

“…Indeed, recent studies highlight the importance of a more tailored policy response and, in particular, matching individual job demands to functional limitations in order to mitigate negative productivity effects in work [13]. Consistent with this, there is increasing recognition of the importance of the employer and of effective occupational health in supporting flexibility and adjustments to work in order to enable employees to retain and/or reengage with work.…”