Abstract
In this study, we examine the take-up of a non-mean tested cash benefit for children with a disability in Norway. We question if the uptake of the attendance benefit varies according to socioeconomic status and immigrant background using administrative register data. The sample in the present study contains all children (N = 335,415) born in the period between 2000 and 2005 in Norway, as well as their mothers. As we do not have sufficient information on the eligibility criteria for the attendance benefit of all children in the sample, we also operate with a subsample of children born with Down syndrome (n = 482), who all met the eligibility criteria. The analyses of attendance benefit uptake are performed using logistic regression analysis. We present the results both on the relative and absolute scales (odds ratios and average marginal effects). The findings show that immigrants have a lower take-up of the attendance benefit for children with a disability compared with the majority of the population. Having low earnings increases the probability of taking up the attendance benefit. Finally, the findings reveal that amongst those who already receive the attendance benefit for their child, there was no social inequality in the rate granted.
Highlights
Children with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in society; more children live with disabilities than previously understood because of improved diagnostic practices (Compas et al 2012; Halfon and Newacheck 2010)
We present the results from Model 2 (Table 3), which is identical to Model 1 but is estimated on a limited sample of children with Down syndrome, Table 3: Model 2: Logistic regression with regard to the uptake of the attendance benefit for children with Down syndrome by socioeconomic status and immigrant background
We proposed three hypotheses, which are as follows: Hypothesis 1 was based on the assumption that the information cost and the transaction cost are higher amongst immigrants, and it predicted that the take up is lower amongst immigrant mothers than amongst the non-immigrant mothers; Hypothesis 2 was based on the assumption that highly educated individuals have a lower transaction cost than less-educated individuals, and it predicted a higher take up amongst the highly educated; Hypothesis 3 was derived from standard cost–benefit theory, and it predicted that mothers with high earnings are less likely to take up the attendance benefit compared with mothers with low earnings
Summary
Children with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in society; more children live with disabilities than previously understood because of improved diagnostic practices (Compas et al 2012; Halfon and Newacheck 2010). It is important that benefits reach the intended group of people and that there is no social inequality among those who receive them. If groups with fewer socioeconomic resources have lower uptake rates, this could amplify existing inequalities in health by social background. Uptake rates refer to the ratio between the number of individuals who receive the benefit and the total number of those who are entitled to it (Hernanz and Pellizzari, 2004). For benefits targeted at people with disabilities, research on uptake is rare. In a study conducted in the UK, the uptake rates for the disability living allowance were estimated to be between 30% and 70% (Craig and Greenslade 1998). Very few studies have examined the uptake of benefits targeting children with disabilities. Apart from one study on the uptake of cash benefits for disabled children in Belgium (Vinck, Lebeer, and Van Lancker 2019) and one Norwegian study examining children with asthma (Finnvold 2009), research on the uptake of cash benefits amongst the parents of children with disability is limited
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