Labor market entry prospects of people with visual impairments: evidence from administrative register data in the Netherlands

The UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities includes a right to equal work opportunities. People with visual impairments (VI) are targeted by this convention and experience low employment rates. The initial transition from education to labor is a predictor for later labor market participation. Exploiting administrative register data, we identified a graduated subpopulation with VI and matched them to a control group. This paper evaluates (1) group differences in various socio-economic outcomes following graduation, and (2) following initial employment. Following graduation there are fewer transitions into (self-)employment for people with VI and more transitions to disability insurance or social benefits, but similar patterns for unemployment insurance and further education. Scrutinizing subsequent dynamics for those that secured initial employment revealed a greater share of those with VI maintained employment as dominant source of income given there was a change in employment status. However, there are more dynamics recorded for individuals with VI, which may reflect difficulties retaining a job. This group remained overrepresented in disability insurance as well as social benefits. Differences with regards to self-employment, unemployment insurance, further education and the other no income status did not reach significance. In conclusion, this study did not find equal labor market prospects for declarants with VI. The finding that VI declarants face less favorable labor market prospects than their matched counterparts, despite having similar cognitive ability, underscores the need for policies that not only improve their labor market outcomes but also promote greater equality in opportunities to reach the UN convention’s ideals.