Archive: Mathematica

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In COVID’s early months, applications to two of Social Security’s assistance programs fell sharply. The decline was nearly 30 percent in the spring and summer of 2020 for the monthly cash payments from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program to the families of children with disabilities. And applications for disability insurance benefits by adults wit…

Happy children in a multi ethnic elementary classroom

We explore the extent to which schools affect children’s applications to Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools varied in the extent to which they offered in-person learning during the 2020-21 school year.  We use this variation to better understand the way schools, potentially through teacher referrals and informal networks, influence applications…

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