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Title: Essays in Applied Economics and Public Policy
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Singh, Maliha M
Essays in Applied Economics and Public Policy
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2022
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Disability; Educational Attainment; Family Income; Insurance, Health; Legislation; Siblings

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In the first chapter, I look into the long-term effects of the receipt of child Supplemental Security Income (SSI) on the siblings to whom the SSI benefits are directly targeted and the spillover effects on the other siblings in the family without a disability. Siblings in households where a child has a disability are often disadvantaged as parents need to divert a high proportion of their resources, time, and energy to the child with a disability in the family (Abrams, 2009). In 1990, the Zebley reform took place which made it easier for children with intellectual disabilities to obtain SSI. This historic decision passed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Sullivan vs Zebley case allowed children with intellectual disabilities, previously not considered disabled for SSI purposes, to receive child SSI benefits for disability. Exploiting the quasi-experimental variation induced by the Zebley decision, I employ a difference-in-differences model. The model estimates the intent-to-treat effects of being eligible for Zebley for an additional year on the outcomes of the children with Zebley affected intellectual disabilities and their siblings with no disabilities. Being eligible for SSI for an additional year increases the number of years of schooling completed by the Zebley eligible child, and also increases the probability that the other siblings in the family complete high school by age 19, earn a higher income, and have private health insurance coverage at the age of 25.
Bibliography Citation
Singh, Maliha M. Essays in Applied Economics and Public Policy. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2022.