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The effects of private versus public health insurance on health and labor market outcomes

Author

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  • Dauth, Christine

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

Abstract

Among health care systems with both public and private elements (such as in the US and Germany), an important question is whether the type of health insurance exerts an impact on workers’ careers. We exploit the unique German case of a two-tier health care system to analyze whether opting out of public statutory health insurance and into private health insurance affects the specific health and employment outcomes of employed workers over a period of nine years. We exploit administrative registers and apply a fuzzy regression discontinuity design. We do not find any evidence that the type of health insurance affects employed workers’ outcomes in the medium or long run. This suggests that even though private health insurance entails more comfortable healthcare conditions, public health insurance does not come with heavy health impairments or detrimental employment outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Dauth, Christine, 2021. "The effects of private versus public health insurance on health and labor market outcomes," IAB-Discussion Paper 202103, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:202103
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Auswirkungen ; Berufserfolg ; Berufsverlauf ; Fehlzeiten ; gesetzliche Krankenversicherung ; Gesundheitszustand ; IAB-Beschäftigtenhistorik ; Krankheit ; medizinische Versorgung ; private Krankenversicherung ; Qualität ; 2000-2017;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private

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