Economics and Social Protection

International News

Disability Inclusive Trade: “An informal inter-organizational Technical Working Group on Trade and Disability Inclusion has been established in response to the growing demand for international trade policies that address the specific challenges and opportunities faced by persons with disabilities.” (Sep, ILO)

Trade policy does not pay sufficient attention to persons with disabilities. A report on how “disadvantaged groups, such as persons with disabilities have limited access to the opportunities generated by trade and they disproportionately shoulder adjustment.” (2023, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)

Things have just gotten worse The impact of the global food, fuel and finance crisis on older persons. (2023, HelpAge) See a blog on older people at the sharp end.

Poverty of disabled people: more poor, worse nutrition and little coverage of social schemes. (In Spanish, 2023, Yo También.)

Multidimensional Measures and the Extra Costs of Disability: How Are They Related? Exploring whether multidimensional poverty measures can be used to study the extra costs of disability. (2023, IJERPH)

Spark Inclusive a help-desk for resources on disability inclusion in rural economies. (2022, IFAD and LFTW)

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Africa

Estimating Households’ Expenditures on Disability in Africa: The Uses and Limitations of the Standard of Living Method. “In lower-income countries, people with disabilities are likely to have fewer opportunities to spend on needed items thus resulting in substantial unmet need for disability-related goods and services. Failing to account for these unmet needs can lead to inadequate systems of social protection if they are based solely on SOL estimates.” (2022, IJERPH)

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Ghana

Energy poverty and functional disability nexus: (2023, Energy for Sustainable Development)

PWDs Threaten To Demonstrate Over High Cost of Living. “Cost of food and transport fares, in particular, have gone up automatically and that has brought untold hardship on PWDs across the country. Our members spend more on transport because of the peculiar nature of our problem”. (2022, DailyGuide Network)

Emotional ‘journey’ of street beggars with vision impairment. (2022, Disability and Society)

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Kenya

How Finance Bill 2023 might affect persons with disabilities adversely. (2023, Nation)

What are the additional costs of living to people with disabilities? (2022, Development Pathways)

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South Africa

“There is no dignity in poverty and even worse in disabled poverty” First-person account of barriers to economic inclusion. (2023, Daily Vox)

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Uganda

The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda. “Seventy-three caregivers took part in this sub-study. The average annual cost of illness to families was USD 949. The main cost drivers were the cost of seeking care and income lost due to loss of employment.” (2023, Plos Global Public Health)

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Bangladesh

On the Debrief: Losing what we've achieved exploring the impact of cost-of-living crisis on disabled people. (2023, Disability Debrief)

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Bhutan

Working with the grain: economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Bhutan (2022, Development in Practice)

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China

Disability inclusion key to rural revitalization. On how China's poverty alleviation measures supported persons with disabilities: “between 2014 and 2019, the registered number of persons with disabilities living in extreme poverty fell from 7.19 million to 479,000, and reached zero by 2021.” (2022, China Daily)

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Georgia

The Cost of Raising a Child with Disabilities The Goods and Services Required for the Equal Participation of Children with Disabilities. (2023, UNICEF)

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India

Budget Gaps: How the 2024–25 Fiscal Plan Fails People with Disabilities. Continuing cuts to the budget for implementation of disability rights legislation. (Jul, The Wire)

The Direct Costs of Disability to Families in Tamil Nadu A study report on the goods and services required by persons with disabilities in Tamil Nadu for full & effective participation (Jun, Center for Inclusive Policy)

Visually impaired beggar in Assam’s Guwahati goes digital, uses QR code to ask for alms. (Mar, Hindustan Times)

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Iran

Iran warns sanctions taking toll on disabled people:

“sanctions imposed by the United States and many Western countries on the Islamic Republic of Iran have significantly increased the prime costs of rehabilitation items and specialized services, and affected the economic capabilities of individuals receiving such services.” (Jun, Mehr News Agency)

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Philippines

Disability-Related Costs of Children with Disabilities in the Philippines “Using an asset index as the indicator of living standards, a child with a disability is estimated to require between 40% and 80% extra expenditure to reach the same living standard of other children. However, the size of extra costs is substantially higher when the measure of the standard of living relies on a broader set of deprivations.” (2023, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

The Cost of Raising Children with Disabilities. Not only do children with disabilities cause expenditure 40-80% greater than those without, poverty rates are 50% higher in households with children with disabilities. (2022, UNICEF)

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Qatar

The disability price tag: The economic costs of caring for children with disabilities in Qatar:

“Quantitatively, within the small sample, the total disability price tag of raising CWNDs in Qatar was found to be between QAR 2,700 [741 USD] and 40,000 [10,987 USD] per month, which can represent between 15 and 420% of the average family’s median income.” (2023, Doha International Family Institute Journal)

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Sri Lanka

The struggle for survival faced by Sri Lanka's senior citizens (2022, HelpAge)

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Türkiye

Severe poverty hits the disabled and demands for an equal and fair life. “There are people who sterilize the same catheter and use it several times,” (In Turkish, translation from Google, 2022, Bir Gün)

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Europe

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on persons with disabilities. “Surprisingly, the average rate of persons with disabilities in the EU at risk of poverty and social exclusion has not risen, despite the socio-economic challenges Europe is facing.” (Sep, EDF)

A snapshot on the impact of the rising cost of living on service providers in the disability sector. “The report argues for the need for effective government support to help disability service providers cope with the cost of living crisis, and to catalyse their transformation into more resilient and modernised entities.” (2023)

Prioritising persons with disabilities in the action against inflation and energy costs. (2022, EDF)

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Finland

147,000 People with disabilities in Finland at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Living conditions statistics. (2023, Helsinki Times)

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France

Salaries for disability professionals to increase but unlikely to be enough to calm a crisis. (2022, Faire Face)

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Ireland

Government must not forget disabled people in this cost of living crisis (2022, The Journal.ie)

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Norway

Impact of child disability on parental employment and labour income. “The results showed that caring for children with disabilities has a negative effect on mothers’ labour market participation, working hours and labour income. The more severe a child’s condition is, the more likely the mother was to work and earn less, or to stop working entirely.” (2022, BMC Public Health)

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United Kingdom

Plugging the “fiscal black hole” a report on how “Investing in Disabled People and Carers can solve the UK’s Economic Challenges”:

“The growing issue of economic inactivity – one of the government’s biggest challenges – stems from the lack of effective support for disabled people, those with long-term health conditions, and unpaid carers, both in getting into work and staying in employment. Our analysis estimates that this failure costs the UK Treasury £38bn each year – nearly twice the “fiscal black hole” or the unfunded spending pressures announced by the government. We consider that these costs occur from failing to close employment gaps for these groups, largely leading to lost tax revenue alongside welfare payments that could be reduced if more people who want to work were able to do so”. (Oct, Disability Policy Centre)

Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism a book by Robert Chapman. “Neurodivergent liberation is possible - but only by challenging the deepest logics of capitalism. Empire of Normality is an essential guide to understanding the systems that shape our bodies, minds and deepest selves - and how we can undo them.” (2023, Pluto Press)

The financial wellbeing of disabled people in the UK “Three-in-ten (27%) disabled households are in serious financial difficulty, compared to one-in-ten (11%) of non-disabled households.” (2023, University of Bristol)

‘I live in fear of debt collectors’: disabled people in England tell of toll of soaring care costs. (2023, the Guardian)

Disabled people facing a ‘cost-of-breathing’ crisis a campaign by Scope and ITV. “For disabled people, this is not just a cost of living crisis.” (2023, Scope)

Homelessness and disability “Report reveals people with physical disabilities and health conditions are at much greater risk of homelessness” (2023, University of Bristol)

Broke and disabled in Tory Britain: the reality of life on one meal a day. (2023, the Guardian)

Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study. ‘Disabled people in the UK are much more likely to struggle to heat their homes and cut back on food this winter, according to a report highlighting “massive” income gaps amid the cost of living squeeze.’ (2023, the Guardian)

Disabled young people have less upward social mobility than their peers – and class background makes this worse. (2023, the Conversation)

Disability Price Tag 2023: the extra cost of disability. “On average, disabled households (with at least one disabled adult or child) need an additional £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.” (2023, Scope)

Thousands of vulnerable people cut off from gas and electricity for days at a time. (2022, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) And this is just the data from last winter.

Blind people amongst those worst affected by cost of living crisis (2022, City A.M.)

What actions are people taking because of the rising cost of living? “Around 4 in 10 disabled people experiencing rising cost of living cut back on food and essentials” (2022, ONS)

‘I see price rises of 25-50%’: how inflation is affecting people with a disability or illness (2022, the Guardian)

Disabled people's experiences with activities, goods and services. “Disabled people with invisible impairments could face a conflict between needing support but not wanting to have to identify themselves as disabled to access it, because of perceived external judgement and negative stereotypes regarding disability; this contributed to a sense of vulnerability which people felt negatively impacted their wellbeing.” (2022, ONS)

From disability to destitution devastating analysis on the economic situation of persons with disabilities. (2022, JRF)

A survey of almost 700 people What disabled consumers choose to buy and why “90 per cent were affected at the decision-making stage of purchases by either; limitations of design, limitations in available information, or how information was presented.” (2022, BDF) See also on Forbes.

Energy prices: Fears and cutbacks as hike hits disabled families (2022, BBC)

In a survey of 1,200 disabled people, more than half feel “anxious, depressed or hopeless” about financial worries and problems (2022, Yahoo! News)

Disabled people facing ‘impossible choices to survive’ in cost of living crisis, “amid a perfect storm of soaring energy prices, increasing fuel and food costs and cuts to government support”. (2022, the Guardian)

New data shows food insecurity major challenge to levelling up agenda "People who are limited a lot by disability are approximately 5 times more likely to be food insecure (in the past six months) than people who aren’t living with a disability." (2022, Food Foundation)

Rising living costs will push more disabled people into destitution "Benefits are falling far behind the extra costs associated with disability," (2022, New Statesman)

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Canada

Canadians on disability overlooked amid rising inflation (2022, CTV News)

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United States

Equity for Whom? An Introduction to Private Equity’s Impacts on the Disability Community:

“Private equity poses a serious and urgent threat to people with disabilities, particularly those with multiple marginalized identities. People who rely on HCBS, autism services, accessible transportation, fertility assistance, affordable housing, or power wheelchair/scooter repairs, and people who are incarcerated in prison, jail, or living in institutions such as a nursing home, residential treatment facility, or intermediate care facility, have likely been deeply impacted by private equity over the past decade. For this reason, it’s imperative that the disability community oppose this profiteering and exploitation, and resist private equity’s encroachment.” (Oct, DREDF)

People with blindness and low vision are squeezed by high costs of living:

“We calculated that people with blindness or low vision spend, on average, 27% of their household income on expenses related to their disability – about $7,000 per year. [...] The people who took this survey and were earning less than $25,000 per year said they spent about 40% of their income on costs related to their disability, on average, compared with 16% for those with higher incomes.” (Oct, The Conversation)

The False Radicalism of Corporate Disability Literature. scathing critiques. (Oct, Lithub)

The Financial Health of People with Disabilities a report on key obstacles and opportunities. “Just 10% of working-age people with disabilities are Financially Healthy, compared with 30% of working-age people without disabilities.” (2023, Financial Health Network)

How to Embed a Disability Economic Justice Policy Framework in Domestic Policy Making. (2023, The Century Foundation)

Voices of Disability Economic Justice a series led by disabled writers. “As our collaborative members work together to bring disability into the economic debate, people with disabilities who have experienced our broken systems firsthand are uniquely positioned to articulate what better public policy would mean for their lives.” (2022, TCF)

New Rule Would Expand Student Debt Relief for Disabled Borrowers (2022, TCF)

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Australia

Disability royal commission says neglect and abuse costs $46 billion a year. Analysis quantifies economic impacts: “The cost of system failures – such as lost productivity due to low employment – was calculated at $27.7 billion. [...] Interpersonal maltreatment – such as violence in the home, sexual violence, child abuse and neglect – was costed at $18.3 billion.” (2023, The Sydney Morning Herald)

The case for philanthropy in disability: “Deloitte Access Economics used HILDA data to examine benefits to health and wellbeing ($57bn), employment ($25.6bn) and education ($1.7bn) if Australia deliberately includes people with disability. This analysis shows that the cumulative inclusion dividend is $84bn per annum.” (2023, Achieve Foundation)

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New Zealand

Unaffordable home heating increases risk of severe mental distress. (2023, PHCC)

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Argentina

Assistance to people with disabilities in danger due to the economic crisis. Including the stopping of transportation services. (In Spanish, Jan, Elmundo.cr)

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