Economic Policy Attitudes and Their Predictive Effects Among Individuals with Disabilities

• In Event: Identity and Political Behavior

Abstract

What do scholars know about the economic preferences of individuals with disabilities? While this body of research remains quite minimal, a small handful of studies suggest that people with disabilities tend to favor redistributive governmental policies and increased spending on social welfare programs, particularly as it relates to healthcare benefits. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, where individuals with disabilities have been disproportionately affected by layoffs and the cost of inflation, we argue that the economic policy preferences of this ever-growing bloc of citizens have become more salient and more influential in guiding political behavior. The present set of analyses within the American context reveals that views on the national economy, as well as on specific health-related and non-health related economic policies, vary according to both the type and severity of one's reported disability. We also demonstrate how individual demographic factors, such as race, education, and healthcare coverage, provide interactive effects with disability status and economic attitudes. We position our results within the broader literature on disability politics, specifically as it relates to patterns of political engagement.

Authors

• April Johnson, Kennesaw State University

• Joshua Johnson, Kennesaw State University