Kathleen J. Mullen

@KathleenJMullen on Twitter

Senior Economist; Director, RAND Center for Disability Research; Editor-in-Chief, RAND Journal of Economics

Off Site Office

Education

Ph.D. in economics, University of Chicago

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Kathleen Mullen (she/her) is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation and director of the RAND Center for Disability Research; she is also editor-in-chief of The RAND Journal of Economics, a leading peer-reviewed journal on industrial organization, regulation, and contracting. Her work addresses the economics of disability, health, and retirement, with an emphasis on the incentive effects of social insurance programs such as Social Security and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). In her research, Mullen has employed a variety of research designs applying both reduced form and structural econometric methods. She has pursued research on, among other things, the effects of SSDI receipt on labor supply; the effects of long waiting times on the subsequent labor force participation and earnings of rejected SSDI applicants; how changes in eligibility requirements affect SSDI or Social Security claiming; and the effects of changes in Social Security or disability insurance incentives in other countries on labor supply for workers at older ages, and what those findings suggest about potential evaluations of reforms in the United States. Mullen received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

Labor supply effects of disability insurance
Determinants of disability insurance claiming
Role of job demands and working conditions

Selected Publications

Maestas, Nicole, Kathleen J. Mullen and Stephanie Rennane, "Unmet Need for Workplace Accommodation," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 38(4), 2019

Mullen, Kathleen J. and Stefan Staubli, "Disability Benefit Generosity and Labor Force Withdrawal," Journal of Public Economics, 143, 2016

Hill, Matthew J., Nicole Maestas and Kathleen J. Mullen, "Employer Accommodation and Labor Supply of Disabled Workers," Labour Economics, 41, 2016

Manoli, Dayanand S., Kathleen J. Mullen and Mathis Wagner, "Policy Variation, Labor Supply Elasticities and a Structural Model of Retirement," Economic Inquiry, 53(4), 2015

Maestas, Nicole, Kathleen J. Mullen and Alexander Strand, "Disability Insurance and the Great Recession," American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings, 105(5), 2015

Maestas, Nicole, Kathleen J. Mullen and Alexander Strand, "Disability Insurance and Health Insurance Reform: Evidence from Massachusetts," American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings, 104(5), 2014

Maestas, Nicole, Kathleen J. Mullen and Alexander Strand, "Does Disability Receipt Discourage Work? Using Examiner Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt," American Economic Review, 103(5), 2013

Hurd, Michael D., Paco Martorell, Adeline Delavande, Kathleen J. Mullen and Kenneth M. Langa, "Monetary Costs of Dementia in the United States," The New England Journal of Medicine, 368, 2013

Honors & Awards

2019 Silver Medal, RAND Corporation
2012 Bronze Medal, RAND Corporation
2005 Dennis J. Aigner Award, Journal of Econometrics

Commentary

Many Americans Face Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse at Work, but Bosses Can Help
Workers are experiencing high levels of hostile behaviors at work. Nearly one in five American workers have been subjected to some form of verbal abuse, unwanted sexual attention, threats, or humiliating behavior at work, with younger non-college educated workers bearing the most risk.
Aug 30, 2017 The RAND Blog
Accommodation for Disabled Workers: Knowledge of Rights a Good Start
With a 36 percent chance of becoming disabled at least once before reaching age 50, it is imperative that workers know their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the resources available to help them.
Aug 29, 2016 The RAND Blog
Dementia's Growing Cost to Caregivers
At the rate that the U.S. population is aging, the total cost of dementia could reach half a trillion dollars a year by 2040. Those who care for impaired relatives and friends are acutely aware of the effects of dementia, and unfortunately they are all too familiar with its costs, writes Kathleen J. Mullen.
Apr 29, 2013 the RWJF's Human Capital Blog
The SSDI Program's Impact on Human Capital
The combined effects of having potentially employable individuals receive SSDI benefits, and the loss of skills among those who are denied benefits, are significant, write Nicole Maestas and Kathleen Mullen.
Mar 8, 2013 The RAND Blog

Publications

Journal Article
Absenteeism and Presenteeism Among American Workers
We analyze the relationship between absences, presenteeism, and work outcomes using data from the American Working Conditions Survey.
Aug 10, 2021
Report
Telecommuting and Work in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Workers Returning to the Workplace or Staying in Their Home Offices?
RAND researchers examine changes in workers' ability to telecommute during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic over time and by occupation. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis.
Dec 3, 2020
Report
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Changing Nature of Work: Lose Your Job, Show Up to Work, or Telecommute?
This report examines how much the ability to work from home has mitigated the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis.
Jun 18, 2020
Journal Article
Unmet Need for Workplace Accommodation
The ways in which workplace accommodation is measured in national surveys have implications for identifying accommodation-sensitive individuals (those on the margin of working or not, depending on whether they are accommodated), and estimating unmet need for accommodation.
Feb 7, 2020
Research Brief
The American Working Conditions Survey Finds That Nearly Half of Retirees Would Return to Work
According to the American Working Conditions Survey, more older workers report having meaningful work compared with their prime-age counterparts, and nearly half of retirees would return to work under the right conditions.
Nov 12, 2019
Draft
The Value of Working Conditions in the United States and Implications for the Structure of Wages
Documents variation in working conditions among workers in the United States, presents new estimates of how workers value these conditions, and assesses the impact of working conditions on estimates of the wage structure and inequality.
Dec 28, 2018
Tool
The American Working Conditions Survey Data: Codebook and Data Description
This codebook describes the content and structure of the American Working Conditions Survey data (AWCS) which was fielded on the RAND American Life Panel (ALP) in 2015.
Aug 14, 2017
Research Brief
How Americans Perceive the Workplace: Results from the American Working Conditions Survey
Half of American workers say that they work in their free time to meet workplace demands, 63 percent feel that they are doing useful work, and 46 percent of retirees age 50 and older say that they would return to work if conditions were right.
Aug 14, 2017
Report
Working Conditions in the United States: Results of the 2015 American Working Conditions Survey
This report presents detailed findings from the 2015 American Working Conditions Survey about the prevalence and distribution of working conditions across the American workforce by age, gender, and education.
Aug 14, 2017
Journal Article
Disability Benefit Generosity and Labor Force Withdrawal
A key component for estimating the optimal size and structure of disability insurance (DI) programs is the elasticity of DI claiming with respect to benefit generosity.
Sep 12, 2016
Draft
The Effect of Population Aging on Economic Growth, the Labor Force and Productivity
Explores the magnitude of the effects of population aging on aggregate economic growth.
Aug 24, 2016
Journal Article
Employer Accommodation and Labor Supply of Disabled Workers
The authors examine the factors that influence employer accommodation of newly disabled workers and how effective such accommodations are in retaining workers and discouraging disability insurance applications.
Aug 16, 2016
Journal Article
Policy Variation, Labor Supply Elasticities, and a Structural Model of Retirement
This paper exploits a combination of policy variation from multiple pension reforms in Austria and administrative data from the Austrian Social Security Database.
Nov 19, 2015
Journal Article
Disability Insurance and the Great Recession
We estimate the effect of labor market conditions, as measured by the unemployment rate, on the number of SSDI applications, the number and composition of initial allowances and denials, and the timing of applications relative to disability onset.
Jun 19, 2015
Draft
Disability Insurance and the Great Recession
Estimates the effect of labor market conditions on the number of applications for Social Security Disability Insurance, the number and composition of initial allowances and denials, and the timing of applications relative to disability onset.
Apr 15, 2015
Draft
Does Delay Cause Decay? The Effect of Administrative Decision Time on the Labor Force Participation and Earnings of Disability Applicants
Measures the causal effect of time out of the labor force on subsequent employment of Social Security Disability Insurance applicants and distinguishes it from the discouragement effect of receiving disability benefits.
Feb 25, 2015
Draft
Policy Variation, Labor Supply Elasticities, and a Structural Model of Retirement
Exploits a combination of policy variation from multiple pension reforms in Austria and administrative data from the Austrian Social Security Database.
Dec 22, 2014
Research Brief
Effects of Health Care Reform on Disability Insurance Claiming
The Affordable Care Act lowered the value of disability insurance over other options for health insurance, increased SSDI applications in counties with high health insurance rates, and increased public expenditures on health care.
Jul 10, 2014
Infographic
Dementia's Mounting Toll on the U.S. Economy
Dementia costs Americans hundreds of billions of dollars per year, and the annual cost could top half a trillion by 2040 due to the 'graying' of the U.S. population.
May 27, 2014
Research Brief
Effects of Employer Health Insurance on Disability Insurance Claiming
National health reform makes it easier for disabled workers to stop working and apply for disability insurance. This study finds that some disabled workers continue working to keep their health insurance but disability applications do not increase.
May 22, 2014
Journal Article
Disability Insurance and Health Insurance Reform: Evidence from Massachusetts
We study the 2006 Massachusetts health insurance reform to estimate the potential effects of the ACA on SSDI and SSI applications.
May 1, 2014
Draft
Source of Health Insurance Coverage and Employment Survival Among Newly Disabled Workers: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study
Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, examines how source of health insurance coverage generally and employer sponsored health insurance specifically affect the employment trajectory following onset of disability.
Apr 1, 2014
Draft
The Effect of Local Labor Demand Conditions on the Labor Supply Outcomes of Older Americans
Measures the effects of local labor demand conditions on a host of outcomes for older individuals including employment, retirement, Social Security claiming, wages, and job characteristics.
Nov 19, 2013
Journal Article
Does Disability Insurance Receipt Discourage Work? Using Examiner Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt
We present the first causal estimates of the effect of Social Security Disability Insurance benefit receipt on labor supply using all program applicants.
Aug 1, 2013
Journal Article
Monetary Costs of Dementia in the United States
Dementia represents a substantial financial burden on society, one that is similar to the financial burden of heart disease and cancer.
Apr 1, 2013
Journal Article
What Explains the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy? The Role of Household Decision-Making
Using newly collected data from the RAND American Life Panel, we examine potential explanations for the gender gap in financial literacy, including the role of marriage and who within a couple makes the financial decisions.
2012
Draft
Do Disability Benefits Discourage Work?
Examines the work history of applicants for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to determine whether receipt of SSDI benefits discourages beneficiaries from working, and how this effect varies by level of impairment.
Sep 19, 2011
Report
Research Designs for Estimating Induced Entry into the SSDI Program Resulting from a Benefit Offset
Provides the Social Security Administration with a set of research design options for estimating the induced entry effects of a proposed $1-for-$2 benefit offset for its Social Security Disability Insurance program.
Dec 14, 2010
Research Brief
Are Performance-Based Accountability Systems Effective? Evidence from Five Sectors
Effective performance-based accountability systems (PBAS) require careful attention to selecting an appropriate design for the PBAS, given the context in which it is to operate, and to monitor, evaluate, and adjust the system, as appropriate.
Jul 28, 2010
Report
Toward a Culture of Consequences: Performance-Based Accountability Systems for Public Services — Executive Summary
Performance-based accountability systems (PBASs) link incentives to measured performance to improve public services. This report explores PBAS design and effectiveness in child care, education, health care, emergency preparedness, and transportation.
Jul 21, 2010
Report
Toward a Culture of Consequences: Performance-Based Accountability Systems for Public Services
Performance-based accountability systems (PBASs) link incentives to measured performance to improve services to the public. This book discusses PBASs' effectiveness in child care, education, health care, emergency preparedness, and transportation.
Jul 19, 2010
Draft
What Explains the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy? The Role of Household Decision-Making
Using data from the RAND American Life Panel, examines potential explanations for the gender gap including the role of marriage and division of financial decision-making among couples.
Jul 1, 2010
Journal Article
Can You Get What You Pay For? Pay-for-Performance and the Quality of Healthcare Providers
One-liner abstract (description): Despite the popularity of pay-for-performance (P4P) among health policymakers and private insurers as a tool for improving quality of care, there is little empirical basis for its effectiveness.
2010
Draft
Can You Get What You Pay For? Pay-For-Performance and the Quality of Healthcare Providers
Examines the effectiveness of pay-for-performance among health policymaker and private insurers as a tool for improving quality of care.
Apr 13, 2009
Journal Article
The Effect of Schooling and Ability on Achievement Test Scores
This paper develops two methods for estimating the effect of schooling on achievement test scores that control for the endogeneity of schooling by postulating that both schooling and test scores are generated by a common unobserved latent ability.
Jul 1, 2004