Does Disability Reshape Who We Are? New Evidence on Personality Change Following Permanent Disability Onset
Personality traits shape the decisions we make, the jobs we hold, and the lives we lead. Economists and psychologists have long assumed these traits are relatively stable across adulthood — but what happens when a major life event permanently changes the way we can participate in work, social life, and daily activities?
As part of the CSI UWA Research Webinar Series, join us to explore presents new causal evidence on how permanent disability onset reshapes personality using 24 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Drawing on a quasi-experimental research design, the findings show that disability onset leads to meaningful changes in how people engage with the world around them — with important implications for disability policy, labour market re-entry, and our understanding of wellbeing and resilience.
Speaker
Michael Palmer is an Associate Professor of Economics at The University of Western Australia Business School. His research is concentrated on the economics of health and disability in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He has published widely on disability measurement, labour market participation, poverty, and social protection. Michael teaches courses in health and experimental analytics, and has received awards for excellence in postgraduate teaching. He is a member of the NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee Economics Sub-committee and collaborates extensively with researchers, governments, and international organisations on disability policy and evaluation.
- Date: Tuesday 4 August 2026
- Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (AWST) - Presentation followed by Q&A
- Online only
- Free event but registration is essential to access the webinar