Working Paper: NBER ID: w29541
Authors: Marika Cabral; Marcus Dillender
Abstract: Little is known about what drives gender disparities in health care and related social insurance benefits. Using data and variation from the Texas workers’ compensation program, we study the impact of gender match between doctors and patients on medical evaluations and associated disability benefits. Compared to differences among their male patient counterparts, female patients randomly assigned a female doctor rather than a male doctor are 5.2% more likely to be evaluated as disabled and receive 8.6% more subsequent cash benefits on average. There is no analogous gender-match effect for male patients. Our estimates indicate that increasing the share of female patients evaluated by female doctors may substantially shrink gender gaps in medical evaluations and associated outcomes.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I11; I14; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Doctor Gender (I11) | Disability Assessment (J14) |
| Doctor Gender (I11) | Cash Benefits (H55) |
| Doctor Gender (I11) | Disability Assessment for Female Patients (J14) |
| Doctor Gender (I11) | Cash Benefits for Female Patients (J32) |
| Doctor Gender (I11) | Disability Assessment for Male Patients (J14) |