Parents’ Valuations of Cash and Near Cash Benefits: Evidence from Supplemental Security Income (with Chris Earles)
Abstract: We examine the relative valuations of cash and near-cash benefits in a setting where the use of near-cash benefits incurs substantial administrative costs: the Supplemental Security Income program for children. We exploit a discontinuity in program approval time that affects whether children receive cash or near-cash benefits. Using Social Security Administration microdata, we assess the relative valuations of these two benefit types through parents’ labor market responses to the income shocks they induce. We find that secondary earners in near-cash families work 10.8 percentage points more and earn nearly $1,470 more during the year of approval. Our estimates suggest that each near-cash dollar is valued at only 65% of a cash dollar.
The Effects of Remote Work on Workplace Injuries
Abstract: Remote work has reshaped the modern workplace. I study how the shift to working from home affects workplace injury rates using administrative and public data. Exploiting pre-pandemic differences in industries’ teleworkability, I apply a difference-in-differences design, excluding pandemic years to avoid confounding shocks. Teleworkability has an imprecise effect on new claim rates but increases the monthly rate of denied claims by 76% relative to the sample mean. To assess whether these changes reflect altered injury risk or moral hazard in home settings, I leverage the fact that teleworkable jobs involve computer-based tasks. Injuries consistent with such tasks indicate changes in injury risk, while others may signal moral hazard. I find suggestive evidence of both reduced injury risk and increased moral hazard in home environments.
Organization and Performance of US Health Systems (with Nancy D. Beaulieu, Michael Chernew, J. Michael McWilliams, Mary Beth Landrum, Maurice Dalton, Michael Briskin, Rachel Wu, Zakaria El Amrani El Idrissi, Helene Machado, Andrew L. Hicks, and David M. Cutler), Journal of the American Medical Association. 2023; 329(4): 325-335.