A recent study of Prof. Miki Malul, Dean of the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management and former Chair of the GGFBM Department of Public Policy and Administration, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev BGU, and his colleagues Liat Yosef (MA student in Public Policy and Administration) and Michal Soffer (Haifa University), emphasizes the need to design policies to lower the status quo bias effect among people with disabilities. Maintaining employment status among this population, and promoting their education level, should be central rehabilitation priorities. The study, From Welfare to Work and From Work to Welfare: A Comparison of People With and Without Disabilities, the MA thesis work of Liat Yosef, was published in the Journal of Disability Policy Studies, June 27, 2018.
Prof. Miki Malul, photo by Shay Shmueli
Exploring the behaviors in the decision—among people with and without disabilities—to move from welfare to work and from work to welfare, found that people with disabilities tend to prefer decisions that maintain their current employment, a status quo bias. Compared with nondisabled individuals, people with disabilities demanded more wages or benefits while changing status in the labor market. The more years of education people with disabilities have, the less incentive is needed to resume or begin working. In addition, the noneconomic value of work is higher among more-educated people compared with less-educated people with disabilities.
In Israel, there are three central disability program populations: veterans with disabilities, individuals with work injury–related disabilities, and persons with general disabilities. With no unified disability policy, each program provides various monetary and rehabilitation services and support that often have conflicting approaches for eligibility.
The category persons with general disabilities, the largest population of the three, is the focus of the study. Eligibility criteria for a general disability pension, rehabilitation, services and support under this program are determined by “limb-rates," scales that convert the type and extent of the impairment into percentages. Accounted into the formula are severity of impairment, economic status, and work potential. Ironically, while the general disability pension is meant to provide income security, it unwittingly acts as a disincentive to work.
The study urges the government to devise concrete policies to lower the status quo bias effect, especially, among people with disabilities. Maintaining employment status among this population, and promoting their education level, should be central rehabilitation priorities.
The Department of Public Policy and Administration is an integral part of the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management GGFBM at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. As such, the Department emphasizes MA Degree management studies and the interface between the public sector and the business sector with the world of economics and business management. The Department provides academic and practical training infused with social responsibility and leadership. Grounded in management studies, our graduates enjoy a significant competitive advantage in the labor market, headed for leadership positions with invaluable impact on society.
