Disentangling the effects of disability status and gender on the labor supply of Anglo, Black, and Latino older workers

Abstract

Utilizing data from the 1991 Health and Retirement Study Early Release File, this article examines the effects of disability status on labor force participation and earnings of preretirement workers aged 50 to 64. Results from our hierarchical regression models suggest that poor health and the presence of a work disability significantly reduced the labor force participation and earnings of older men and women. These analyses also suggest that economic well-being was constrained by the costs associated with additional 'minority statuses.' For example, the odds of being employed were reduced by approximately 46% for black men with disabilities. Further, the earnings of black men were 17% lower than the earnings of their nondisabled counterparts.