Affiliations: Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, DC, USA | Department of Economics, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, MI, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: David Wittenburg, Mathematica Policy
Research, 600 Maryland Ave., Suite 550, Washington, DC, USA. Tel.: +1 202 484
4527; E-mail: DWittenburg@Mathematica-Mpr.com
Abstract: This paper presents estimates of Ticket to Work's (TTW) impacts on
service enrollment, earnings, and benefit amounts during the first two years of
program implementation in Phases 1 and 2 states. We estimated impacts using a
longitudinal fixed effects model that tracked changes in outcomes of 4.7
million beneficiaries with disabilities covering the period from the year
before the Phase 1 Ticket mailing in 2001 and continuing through the end of
2003. Our impact estimates indicate that TTW had a small impact on promoting
service enrollment during the first year of TTW rollout. We find no compelling
evidence that TTW affected beneficiary earnings and benefits during its first
two years. Our impact findings for all outcomes are consistent with the
expectation that changes in service enrollment would occur before changes in
either earnings or benefit receipt. Additionally, the relatively small size of
the service enrollment impacts is consistent with the low TTW participation
rate, which was less than 1 percent during the first year of the rollout in
Phase 1. Given the anticipated timing of impacts and the relatively small size
of the service enrollment impacts, it is not surprising that we find no
compelling evidence of subsequent impacts on earnings and benefit amounts at
this early stage.
Keywords: Ticket to Work, Ticket to Work and the Work Incentives Improvement Act, disability and employment, Social Security disability benefits, evaluation, administrative data
