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The Affordable Care Act and the Growth of Involuntary Part-Time Employment

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  • William E. Even
  • David A. Macpherson

Abstract

This study tests whether the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased involuntary part-time (IPT) employment. Using data from the Current Population Survey between 1994 and 2015, the authors find that IPT employment in 2015 exceeded predictions based on economic conditions and the structure of the labor market. Of greater importance, using difference-in-difference methods, they find that the increase in the probability of IPT employment since passage of the ACA was greater in occupations with a larger share of workers affected by the mandate. The authors’ estimates suggest that approximately 700,000 additional workers without a college degree are in IPT employment as a result of the ACA employer mandate.

Suggested Citation

  • William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 2019. "The Affordable Care Act and the Growth of Involuntary Part-Time Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(4), pages 955-980, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:72:y:2019:i:4:p:955-980
    DOI: 10.1177/0019793918796812
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2016. "The Rise of Part-time Employment," SciencePo Working papers hal-01311976, HAL.
    2. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Joel A. Elvery & C. Lockwood Reynolds & Shawn M. Rohlin, 2023. "Employer Wage Subsidy Caps and Part-Time Work," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(1), pages 189-209, January.
    5. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2019. "Employment Adjustment and Part-Time Work: Lessons from the United States and the United Kingdom," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 389-435, January.
    6. Marcus Dillender & Carolyn J. Heinrich & Susan Houseman, 2022. "Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Part-Time Employment: Early Evidence," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(4), pages 1394-1423.
    7. Robert G. Valletta & Leila Bengali & Catherine van der List, 2020. "Cyclical and Market Determinants of Involuntary Part-Time Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 67-93.
    8. Kang, Hyunju & Park, Jaevin & Suh, Hyunduk, 2020. "The rise of part-time employment in the great recession: Its causes and macroeconomic effects," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. Mulligan, Casey, 2018. "The Employer Penalty, Voluntary Compliance, and the Size Distribution of Firms: Evidence from a Survey of Small Businesses," Working Papers 07020, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    10. Didem Tuzemen & Makoto Nakajima, 2014. "Health Care Reform or Labor Market Reform? A Quantitative Analysis of the Affordable Care Act," 2014 Meeting Papers 1325, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    11. Theresa Markefke & Rebekka Rehm, 2020. "Macroeconomic Determinants of Involuntary Part-Time Employment in Germany," Working Paper Series in Economics 103, University of Cologne, Department of Economics.
    12. Laura Connolly & Matt Hampton & Otto Lenhart, 2024. "Labor mobility and the Affordable Care Act: Heterogeneous impacts of the preexisting conditions provision," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 157-191, January.
    13. Mark Duggan & Gopi Shah Goda & Emilie Jackson, 2019. "The Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Insurance Coverage and Labor Market Outcomes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 72(2), pages 261-322, June.
    14. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2018. "The welfare effects of involuntary part-time work," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 183-205.
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    16. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Dillender, Marcus O. & Heinrich, Carolyn J. & Houseman, Susan N., 2016. "Health insurance reform and part-time work: Evidence from Massachusetts," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 151-158.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Kavan Kucko & Kevin Rinz & Benjamin Solow, 2017. "Labor Market Effects of the Affordable Care Act: Evidence from a Tax Notch," CARRA Working Papers 2017-07, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    21. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Aslim, Erkmen Giray, 2022. "Public health insurance and employment transitions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    23. Casey B. Mulligan, 2019. "The Employer Penalty, Voluntary Compliance, and the Size Distribution of Firms: Evidence from a Survey of Small Businesses," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 34, pages 139-171, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Lennon, Conor, 2021. "Are the costs of employer-sponsored health insurance passed on to workers at the individual level?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employer-provided health insurance; part-time employment; labor market regulation; policy analysis; labor demand; wages; employment determination; empirical analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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