Income Disparity among Persons with Disabilities, Assessed by Education and Sex: Accentuated Gender Difference Found in Metro Manila, the Philippines
type="main" How do persons with disabilities (PWDs) earn a living? This paper presents an investigation of the economic activities of PWDs in the Philippines, where, among developing countries, disability related legislation is relatively progressive. In 2008, a field survey was conducted in cooperation with Disability People's Organizations using a tailor made questionnaire in Metro Manila. The explanatory variables of income of PWDs were examined using Mincer regression. The conclusions are as follows. (1) There is remarkable income disparity among PWDs, differing with education and sex. (2) After controlling for PWDs' characteristics, it was found that female PWDs are likely to earn less than male PWDs. Such a significant income gap between men and women among PWDs is remarkable in the Philippines, where gender difference in income is generally small. This finding suggests that female PWDs are doubly disadvantaged in earning income.