Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Le, Nga
Author-Email: nga.le@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Groot, Wim
Author-Email: wn.groot@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT, TIER and CAPHRI School for Public Health
	 and Primary Care, Maastricht University
Author-Name: Tomini, Sonila M.
Author-Email: sonila.tomini@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Tomini, Florian
Author-Email: f.tomini@qmul.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Primary Care and Public Health Queen Mary
	 University, London,
Title: Health insurance and self-employment transitions in Vietnam
Abstract: Health insurance can have important effects on self-employment and self- 
	 employment transitions. However, there is a literature gap on the 
	 relationship between health insurance and self-employment in low and 
	 middle income countries, especially in the context of rapid expansion of 
	 health insurance in these countries. This paper examines this 
	 relationship in Vietnam with a focus on the comparison between the 
	 voluntary scheme for the informal sector (mostly self-employed workers) 
	 and the compulsory insurance for the formal sector (mostly wage 
	 workers). We employ a Probit model with selection on a panel from the 
	 Vietnamese Household Living Standards Surveys 2010-2014 to investigate 
	 the association between health insurance and self-employment entry and 
	 exit. We show that those with compulsory health insurance in Vietnam, 
	 the formal workers, are 10 percentage points less likely to enter 
	 self-employment compared to those having voluntary insurance. Regarding 
	 self-employment exit, people with compulsory insurance are more likely 
	 to exit self-employment compared to those covered by voluntary 
	 insurance. However, the effect size is relatively small.
Classification-JEL: I13, J22
Keywords: health insurance, self-employment, Vietnam, self-employment entry,
	 self-employment exit  
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20190322
Number: 2019-008
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2019/wp2019-008.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2019008