Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0 
Author-Name: Nga Le Thi Quynh
Author-Email: nga.le@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Author-workplace-name: UNU-MERIT, and Maastricht University
Author-Name: Groot, Wim
Author-Email: w.groot@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Author-workplace-name: TIER, and CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University
Author-Name: Tomini, Sonila M.
Author-Email: s.tomini@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Author-workplace-name: UNU-MERIT, and Maastricht University
Author-Name: Tomini, Florian
Author-Email: f.tomini@uva.nl
Author-workplace-name: Amsterdam School of Economics, University of Amsterdam,
Title: Effects of health insurance on labour supply: A systematic review
Abstract: This study provides a systematic review of empirical evidence on the 
	 labour supply effects of health insurance. The outcomes in the 63 
	 studies reviewed include labour supply in terms of hours worked and the 
	 probability of employment, self-employment and the level of economic 
	 formalisation. One of the key findings is that the current literature is 
	 vastly concentrated on the US. We show that spousal coverage in the US 
	 is associated with reduced labour supply of secondary earners. The 
	 effect of Medicaid in the US on labour supply of its recipients is 
	 ambiguous. However we have initial evidence of labour supply distortion 
	 caused by Children's Health Insurance Program, Affordable Care Act and 
	 other public health insurance expansions. A tentative result is that 
	 dependent young adults in the US who can access health insurance via 
	 their parents' employer have lower labour supply through fewer hours 
	 worked while keeping the same employment probability. The 
	 employment-coverage link is an important determinant of labour supply of 
	 people with health problems. The same holds for self-employment 
	 decisions. Universal coverage may create either an incentive or a 
	 disincentive to work depending on the design of the system. Finally, 
	 evidence on the relationship between health insurance and the level of 
	 economic formalisation in developing countries is fragmented and 
	 limited.
Keywords: health insurance, labour supply, labour market
Classification-JEL: I13, J22
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20170323
Number: 2017-017
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2017/wp2017-017.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2017017