Work from Home and Disability Employment: A Shift-Share Analysis

• In Event: New Trends in Disability, Work, and Federal Disability Programs

Abstract

Does an increase in the rate at which occupations offer work-from-home (WFH) accommodations increase the rate of employment for disabled Americans? Evidence from Bloom, Dahl, and Rooth (2025) suggests this is the case, but much is still unknown about how this plays out mechanically. This paper conducts a shift-share analysis at the county level, utilizing changes in WFH rates in occupations in other countries to construct its instrument. Utilizing data from the Current Population Survey and the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, this analysis aims to answer more specifically how WFH policies impact disabled employment by occupation group, how this varies by disability type, and what regions stand the most to gain from adopting WFH policies. As WFH policies loosen the need for employees to be located physically near their place of employment, this analysis will also construct a spatial lag variable that examines how far away the effects of an increase in WFH are felt.

Author

• Matthew Bryan Forbes, RAND School of Public Policy
  Presenting Author