Disability Policies: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know

In the context of the International Day in honor of Persons with Disabilities, as happens every year, outdated statistics and tenuous information about people with disabilities will be disseminated. Albeit with good intentions, when the most shared data no longer reflects the current reality, resources and attention may end up diverted from the more striking challenges regarding disability policies. At best they catch our attention, at worst they lead us astray in the design of impactful policies.

Our new publication, “Seeds to Inclusion: What we know and don’t know about disability policy,” focuses on the effectiveness of disability inclusion policies in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean.  To be able to address what we know and what we need to know, our analysis focuses on the existing causal evidence about interventions in education, health, labor markets and social protection.

Click here to read the full report

While qualitative and correlational studies can provide important insights about promising policies, causally identified studies provide evidence that the intervention, not something else, had an effect.  The good news is that this type of evidence base is steadily building with respect to disability policies. 

Update the picture around people with disabilities

The most effective policies won’t add much value if they don’t meet the key challenges.  To ensure the relevance of the evidence base about policies, we analyze data from recent household surveys with high-quality information on persons with disabilities. Moreover, we analyze policy relevant samples rather than comparing outcomes across all persons with and without disabilities.  This is particularly important given the fact that the overall population of persons with disabilities has a much older age distribution than the population without disabilities. In fact, the majority of persons with disabilities are older than 55 years of age in 7 of the 8 countries.

• People with disabilities in education: Studying recent cohorts allows us to learn about the situation of exclusion in the context of contemporaneous education policies for example, rather than about individuals who may have encountered exclusion in school settings decades ago.  For example, we find that most children with disabilities attend and complete primary school, while gaps persist at higher schooling levels, and inclusive education remains elusive across most countries.  While there is an average 15 ppt gap in completion rates of secondary education by disability status, there is a growing contingent of students with disabilities ready for post-secondary opportunities.  On average across the 8 countries 63% of 20–24-year-olds with disabilities have completed secondary education.

Enrollment rates (%), children with disabilities 6-11 years

Source: IDB staff calculations based on data from household surveys circa 2022.

• People with disabilities in the job market: The panorama of exclusion in the labor market is similarly complex.  Most working-age adults with disabilities in the region are employed (56-68%). However, informal jobs and self-employment are more likely, contributing to lower earnings of people with disabilities who earn 88 cents for every dollar earned by their equally experienced and educated counterparts without disabilities.

Our analysis finds a more nuanced picture of inclusion across education, health, labor markets and social protection, with small gaps on the extensive margin of basic schooling and employment and important pending challenges regarding school retention, job quality and inclusive services.

Take stock of the evidence base

The publication highlights evidence-based policies that are being implemented in the region such as vocational training to promote employment and interventions that support mainstreaming in education, including resource rooms and grants to finance assistive devices.  At the same time, there are effective policies implemented elsewhere that are not found in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Causal evidence from other regions  including the United States suggests policies such as the provision of co- teachers or teacher aids can facilitate learning for students with and without inclusion in mainstream classrooms.  These practices are highlighted as potential pilots in the region.

The report also identifies deep knowledge gaps that hinder effective policymaking.  Numerous interventions with solid theories of change are commonly implemented in the region but lack rigorous evidence of impact.  These interventions range from skill-upgrading programs and employer training programs in labor markets to personal assistance programs and accessibility interventions in health and social protection.  While these policies are viewed as promising, stronger evidence is needed to guide policymakers.  

Nothing about us without us: determining the research agenda on disability

You may be wondering; will all this get plugged into AI such that a research agenda is instantaneously defined? Absolutely not! To honor the important principle of “nothing about us without us” which is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, persons with disabilities have been at the center of all stages of this project.  

Our kickoff conference featured papers written and presented by outstanding researchers with disabilities and the core research team of the publication was comprised of researchers with and without disabilities.  Given the knowledge gaps identified in the publication and the need to shape a research agenda moving forward, it is critical to count on the perspectives and opinions of people with disabilities. 

With the aim of understanding the priorities of Disability People’s Organizations and civil society, we launched an accessible on-line survey in March of this year.  We welcome you to submit your ideas and perspectives to the online survey by January 30.