Sophie Mitra

Ph.D., Universite Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne (France)

• Applied Microeconomics
• Development
• Disability and Health

Sophie Mitra, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Economics, co-director of the  Disability Studies Program and founding director of the Research Consortium on Disability at Fordham University. Her research interests relate to disability, health, international development and social protection. She is the author of Disability, Health and Human Development (Palgrave MacMillan, 2018). She has studied the economic impact of disability and mental illness, multidimensional poverty, the association between disability and poverty, the definition of disability. Some of her research is interdisciplinary and uses mixed and participatory methods. She has published in many peer reviewed journals in economics and interdisciplinary journals in disability policy, public health and development studies. She is a fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association, a Fordham-Columbia research fellow and an affiliate of the Columbia China Center for Social Policy.

Journal Articles

Mitra, S., Palmer, M., Mont, D. and Groce, N. (2016). Can households cope with health shocks in Vietnam? Health Economics 25(7). DOI: 10.1002/hec.3196

Mitra, S. and Brucker, D. (2016). Income Poverty and Multiple Deprivations in a High-Income Country: The Case of the United States. Social Science Quarterly. DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12291

Palmer, M., Mitra, S., Mont, D., Groce, N. (2015). The impact of health insurance for children under age 6: A regression discontinuity approach. Social Science and Medicine 145, pp. 217-226.

Mitra, Sophie (2014). Reconciling the capability approach and the ICF: A response, ALTER - European Journal of Disability Research / Revue Européenne de Recherche sur le Handicap 8(1), pp. 24-29.

Mitra, S. and J-M. Boussard (2012). A Simple Model of Endogenous Agricultural Commodity Price Fluctuations with Storage, Agricultural Economics. V1-15ol 43(1), pp. 1-15.

Mitra, S. (2009). Disability Screening and Labor Supply: Evidence from South Africa. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 99(2); pp. 512-516.

Publications in peer reviewed journals

Meraya, A., Dwibedi, N. Innes, K., Mitra, S., Xi, T., Sambamoorthi, U. (2018), The Dynamic Relationships between Economic Indicators and Physical Health Measures among Working-Age Adults in the United States. Health Economics 27(8), pp. 1160-1174.

Mani, S., Mitra, S. and Sambamoorthi, U. (2018), Transitions in Health and Employment: New Evidence from Indonesia. World Development 104, pp. 297-309 (earlier version is IZA working paper 10256.)

Mizunoya, S., Mitra, S. and Yamasaki, I. (2018), Disability and school attendance in 15 low- and middle-income countries. World Development 104, pp. 388-403 (earlier version is Innocenti Working Paper No.2016-03, UNICEF.)

Meraya, A., Dwibedi, N. Innes, K., Mitra, S., Xi, T., Sambamoorthi, U. (2018), Heterogeneous relationships in health by race/ethnicity. Health Services Research. 2018 Aug;53 Suppl 1:2910-2931.

Disease Control Priorities-3 Child and Adolescent Health and Development Authors Group (2018). Investment in child and adolescent health and development: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition. Lancet 391(10121) , pp. 687-699.

Mitra, S., Palmer, M. Kim, H., Mont, D. and Groce, N. (2017). Extra costs of disability: a review of the literature. Disability and Health 10(4), pp. 475-484

Mitra, S., Palmer, M. Pullaro, S., Mont, D. and Groce, N. (2017). Health Insurance and Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: a Review. Economic Record 93(302), pp. 484-500

Mitra, S. and Jones, K. (2017). The Impact of Recent Mental Health Problems on Labor Supply: new evidence from longitudinal data. Applied Economics 49(1), pp. 96-109.

Mitra, S., Palmer, M., Mont, D. and Groce, N. (2016). Can households cope with health shocks in Vietnam? Health Economics 25(7). DOI: 10.1002/hec.3196

Mitra, S. and Brucker, D. (2016). Income Poverty and Multiple Deprivations in a High-Income Country: The Case of the United States. Social Science Quarterly. DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12291

Mizunoya, S., Yamasaki, I., and Mitra, S. (2016). The Disability Gap in Employment Rates in a Developing Country Context: New Evidence from Vietnam. Economics Bulletin 36(2), pp. 771-777.

Palmer, M., Mitra, S., Mont, D., Groce, N. (2015). The impact of health insurance for children under age 6: A regression discontinuity approach. Social Science and Medicine 145, pp. 217-226.

Brucker, D.L.. Mitra, S. Chaitoo, N., Mauro, J. (2015), More likely to be poor whatever the measure: working age persons with disabilities in the United States. Social Science Quarterly 96 (1), pp. 273-296.

Mitra, Sophie (2014). Reconciling the capability approach and the ICF: A response, ALTER - European Journal of Disability Research / Revue Européenne de Recherche sur le Handicap 8(1), pp. 24-29.

Mitra, S. and U. Sambamoorthi (2014). Disability Prevalence Among Adults: Estimates for 54 Countries and Progress Toward A Global Estimate. Disability and Rehabilitation 36(11), pp. 940-47.

Mitra, S. (2013). Data Revolution for Disability-Inclusive Development. Lancet Global Health 1(4), pp. E178 - E179, October.

Mizunoya, S. and S. Mitra (2013). Is there a Disability Gap in Employment Rates in Developing Countries? World Development 42, pp.28-43.

Mitra, S., Posarac, A. and Vick, B. (2013). Disability and Poverty in Developing Countries: a multidimensional Study. World Development 41, pp. 1-18. A longer and earlier working paper is World Bank Social Protection Working Paper 1109.

Mitra, S., K. Jones, B. Vick, D. Brown, E. McGinn and M-J Alexander (2013). Implementing a Multi-dimensional Poverty Measure using Mixed Methods. Social Indicators Research 110 (3), pp. 1061-1081.

Vick, B., K. Jones and Mitra, S. (2012). Poverty and Psychiatric Diagnosis in the U.S.: Evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics 15(2).

Sambamoorthi U., S. Mitra, P. Findley and L. Pogach. (2012). Decomposing Gender Differences in Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Among Veterans with or at Risk for Cardiovascular Conditions, Women's Health Issues 22(2), pp. e201-e208.

Mitra, S. and J-M. Boussard (2012). A Simple Model of Endogenous Agricultural Commodity Price Fluctuations with Storage, Agricultural Economics 43(1), pp. 1-15.

Mitra, S. and J-M. Boussard (2011). Les Stocks et la Volatilité des Prix Agricoles : un Modèle de Fluctuations Endogènes, Economie Rurale, no 321 Jan - Feb. Paper in English: [A Storage and the Volatility of Agricultural Prices: A Model of Endogenous Fluctuations].

Mitra, S. (2010) Disability Cash Transfers in the Context of Poverty and Unemployment: the Case of South Africa. World Development 38(12), pp. 1692 - 1709.

Mitra, S. (2009), Disability Screening and Labor Supply: Evidence from South Africa, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 99(2), pp. 512-516.

Mitra S. and U. Sambamoorthi (2009), Wage Differential by Disability Status in an Agrarian Labor Market in India, Applied Economics Letters 16(14), pp. 1393-98.

Mitra, S., P.  Findley and U. Sambamoorthi (2009), Health Care Expenditures of Living with a Disability, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 90, pp. 1532-40.

Mitra, S. (2009), Temporary and Partial Disability Programs in Nine Countries: What can the United States Learn from Other Countries?, Journal of Disability Policy Studies 20(1), pp. 14-27.

Mitra S. (2008), The Recent Decline in the Employment of Persons with Disabilities in South Africa, 1998-2006, South African Journal of Economics 76(3), pp. 480-492.

Mitra, S. and U. Sambamoorthi (2008), Disability and the Rural Labor Market in India: Evidence for Males in Tamil Nadu, World Development 36(5), pp. 934-952.

Mitra, S. (2008), The Reservation Wages of Social Security Disability Insurance Beneficiaries, Social Security Bulletin 67(4), pp. 89-111.

Mitra, S. (2006), The Capability Approach and Disability, Journal of Disability Policy Studies 16(4), pp. 236-247

Mitra, S. (2006), Disability and Social Safety Nets in Developing Countries, International Journal of Disability Studies 2(1), pp. 43-88, also World Bank Social Protection Working Paper No. 509.

Mitra, S. and U. Sambamoorthi (2006), Government Programs to Promote Employment among Persons with Disabilities in India, Indian Journal of Social Development 6(2), pp. 195-213.

Mitra, S. and U. Sambamoorthi (2006), Disability Estimates in India: What the Census and NSS Tell Us, Economic and Political Weekly, September 23; 41(38), pp. 4022-4026.

Mitra S. and U. Sambamoorthi (2006), Employment of Persons with Disabilities: Evidence from the National Sample Survey, Economic and Political Weekly, January 21; 41(3), pp. 199-203.

Mitra, S. and D. Brucker (2004), The Early Intervention Project: An Innovative Initiative to Return Social Security Applicants to Work, Journal of Disability Policy Studies 15(3), pp. 159-167.

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

Mitra, S. (2013), Employment Outcomes, Constraints and Responses in Developing Countries in: Heymann, J., Stein, M., and G. Moreno (eds), Disability and Equality at Work (New York: Oxford University Press).

Contributor to Chapter 2 (Disability - A Global Picture) and Chapter 8 (Work and Employment) of WHO-World Bank, World Report on Disability. [Other languages]

Mitra, S. and D. Stapleton (2006), Disability, Work and Return to Work, in Lewin D. (ed), Contemporary Issues in Industrial Relations, Labor and Employment Relations Association Research Volume, Cornell University Press.

Mitra, S. (2005), Economic and Social Development, in: Albrecht, G. (ed) (2005), The Encyclopedia of Disability, Sage.