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P ublic health insurance and the labor market : Evidence from China's Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance
Author(s) -
Si Wei
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.4198
Subject(s) - china , business , flexibility (engineering) , panel data , health insurance , demographic economics , public health insurance , empirical evidence , public health , labor mobility , natural experiment , labour economics , health care , economics , economic growth , medicine , political science , nursing , philosophy , management , epistemology , law , econometrics , pathology
This study provides empirical evidence on the labor market effects of public health insurance using evidence from China. In 2007, China launched a national public health insurance program, Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI), targeting residents in urban areas who were not insured by employment‐based health insurance. Using panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, I identify the impacts of the program based on its staggered implementation across cities. I find that URBMI did not have a significant average causal effect on labor force participation. However, it did increase employment mobility, as evidenced by the decrease in long‐term employment and expansion of fixed‐term contract jobs and self‐employment. After the program was implemented, job lock declined and job flexibility increased, especially among women, the less educated, and individuals with good health status. The results also suggest increased employment for unhealthy workers, indicating a direct health improvement effect.