NB21-08: Applying Aspects of Disability Determination Methods from the Netherlands in the U.S.

Recent evidence points to a 20 percentage-point gap in DI approval rates for men and women. This project investigates the potential role of evaluator gender in driving gender disparities in the disability evaluation of injured workers who are randomly assigned to medical examiners (physicians and chiropractors) in Texas’ workers’ compensation system. Our analysis draws on a unique administrative dataset on 70,000 impairment exams performed by randomly assigned doctors between 2013 and 2017, as well as the health care and income benefits claimants subsequently received.