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  • The Decline in Employment of People with Disabilities: A Policy Puzzle
  • Neill DeClercq
The Decline in Employment of People with Disabilities: A Policy Puzzle. Edited by David C. Stapleton and Richard V. Burkhauser . Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2003. 429 pp. $45 hardback, $22 paper.

As the title of this fascinating compilation of research indicates, the employment rates of people with disabilities (PWD) declined during the 1990s. The puzzle that Stapleton and Burkhauser seek to solve is why and what to do about it. One of the more interesting issues explored in this book is what role, if any, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) played.

The editors do an excellent job in their introduction of summarizing and highlighting the significance of the research compiled to answer this puzzle. Several chapters examine in detail the quality of the data and its analysis. A central definitional data issue is who to count as "disabled." A second level of debate focuses on the possible causes of the employment decline: changes in the nature of work or the labor market, rising health care costs for PWD, changes in the incidence and mix of "disabilities," enactment of the ADA, and social security disability program changes. [End Page 112]

In the final chapter, the editors review the evidence presented in the earlier chapters and evaluate the policy implications. After sifting through the arguments and data, they conclude that the likely primary cause for the decline in employment of PWD is the loosening of eligibility standards and the expansion of covered impairments in the social security disability insurance programs. While many readers might be content to simply read and digest the editors' introductory and concluding chapters, that would be a mistake. Even if the editors' conclusion as to cause is accurate (and the evidence is compelling), the implications for public policy are far from obvious. To appreciate that debate fully, the reader should explore the rich and nuanced discussion found in each of the chapters.

Differing values and philosophy drive the debate for how best to increase employment opportunities for PWD. For example, several chapters discuss the effect the ADA may have had on the employment of PWD. Some researchers note that judicial interpretations of the law have made the definition of "disability" uncertain, thus contributing to the difficult task of data analysis and interpretation. While overall PWD employment rates may be down, the rates for the subset of those actually protected by the law may not be. Traditional economic analysis faults the ADA for imposing costs on firms thereby creating inefficiencies in the labor market, which arguably result in less employment of PWD. Others argue that imposing costs on individual firms may result in greater efficiencies at the societal level. Should economic efficiency be the primary measure for policy in this arena? Perhaps employment equity is a "social good" worth paying for.

This book is not for the casual reader. However, for those with a strong interest in public policy related to employment of PWD it is a valuable source of data and argument that frames the current debate. It is appropriate for use in advanced level courses in labor studies and related disciplines.

Neill DeClercq
University of Wisconsin
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