American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Invisible Wounds: How Mental Disability Benefits Shape Veteran Well-Being
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 282–317)
Abstract
We study impacts of VA disability compensation on the health and well-being of the large and rapidly growing population of veterans claiming mental disorders. We leverage quasi-random assignment of veterans to medical examiners with varying assessing tendencies. An additional $1,000 per year decreases food insecurity and homelessness by 4.1 and 1.3 percent over 5 years. Health care utilization increases, with greater engagement in preventive care. We estimate precise null average effects on health and mortality. Those on the margin of claim denial experience worse outcomes on average than other applicants, with suggestive evidence of large treatment effects for this subpopulation.Citation
Silver, David, and Jonathan Zhang. 2026. "Invisible Wounds: How Mental Disability Benefits Shape Veteran Well-Being." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 18 (1): 282–317. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230811Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I31 General Welfare; Well-Being
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination