The causal effects of employment on mental health and criminality for disabled workers

We study to what extent employment generates spillover effects on other life domains for persons with a work disability. We find that being employed reduces the probability of using mental health care by 7 percentage points, engaging in criminal activity by 3 percentage points and using non-medical home care by 8 percentage points. Relative to the baseline prevalence in our sample of disabled persons, these effects range between 30 and 60 percent. Hence, the beneficial effects of paid work can be considered substantial.