IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/26103.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Demand for Insurance and Rationale for a Mandate: Evidence from Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Author

Listed:
  • Marika Cabral
  • Can Cui
  • Michael Dworsky

Abstract

This paper analyzes the demand for insurance and the potential rationale for coverage mandates in the context of workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation is a state-regulated insurance program that provides employers with liability protection and employees with defined income and medical benefits in the event of work-related injuries or illnesses. Nearly all states have mandated workers’ compensation insurance coverage; the sole exception is Texas. Using administrative data from the unique voluntary Texas workers’ compensation insurance system, we estimate the demand for workers’ compensation insurance leveraging idiosyncratic regulatory updates to relative premiums across industry-occupation classifications. The difference-in-differences estimates indicate that the demand for workers’ compensation coverage is price-sensitive, with a 1% increase in premiums leading to approximately a 0.3% decline in coverage. Drawing upon these estimates and additional data on costs, we analyze potential justifications for government intervention to increase coverage through subsidies or a mandate. This analysis suggests that some common market failure justifications for government intervention in insurance markets—adverse selection, market power, and externalities—may not be compelling justifications for a mandate in this setting.

Suggested Citation

  • Marika Cabral & Can Cui & Michael Dworsky, 2019. "The Demand for Insurance and Rationale for a Mandate: Evidence from Workers’ Compensation Insurance," NBER Working Papers 26103, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26103
    Note: EH LS PE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w26103.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein & Paul Schrimpf, 2010. "Optimal Mandates and the Welfare Cost of Asymmetric Information: Evidence From the U.K. Annuity Market," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 1031-1092, May.
    2. Dillender, Marcus, 2015. "The effect of health insurance on workers’ compensation filing: Evidence from the affordable care act's age-based threshold for dependent coverage," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 204-228.
    3. Courtemanche, Charles & He, Daifeng, 2009. "Tax incentives and the decision to purchase long-term care insurance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 296-310, February.
    4. Martin B. Hackmann & Jonathan T. Kolstad & Amanda E. Kowalski, 2015. "Adverse Selection and an Individual Mandate: When Theory Meets Practice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(3), pages 1030-1066, March.
    5. MELISSA McINERNEY & KOSALI SIMON, 2012. "The Effect of State Workers’ Compensation Program Changes on the Use of Federal Social Security Disability Insurance," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 57-88, January.
    6. Meyer, Bruce D & Viscusi, W Kip & Durbin, David L, 1995. "Workers' Compensation and Injury Duration: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 322-340, June.
    7. David Powell & Seth Seabury, 2018. "Medical Care Spending and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Workers' Compensation Reforms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(10), pages 2995-3027, October.
    8. Erin Todd Bronchetti & Melissa McInerney, 2017. "Does Increased Access to Health Insurance Impact Claims for Workers' Compensation? Evidence from Massachusetts Health Care Reform," Upjohn Working Papers 17-277, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    9. Kolstad, Jonathan T. & Kowalski, Amanda E., 2016. "Mandate-based health reform and the labor market: Evidence from the Massachusetts reform," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 81-106.
    10. Bronchetti, Erin Todd, 2012. "Workers' compensation and consumption smoothing," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 495-508.
    11. Frank Neuhauser & Steven Raphael, 2004. "The Effect of an Increase in Worker's Compensation Benefits on the Duration and Frequency of Benefit Receipt," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 288-302, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maclean, J. Catherine & Pichler, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2020. "Mandated Sick Pay: Coverage, Utilization, and Welfare Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 13132, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Koning, Pierre & van Lent, Max, 2022. "Workers' Moral Hazard and Insurer Effort in Disability Insurance," IZA Discussion Papers 15164, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Nathaniel Hendren & Camille Landais & Johannes Spinnewijn, 2021. "Choice in Insurance Markets: A Pigouvian Approach to Social Insurance Design," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 457-486, August.
    4. Marika Cabral & Marcus Dillender, 2024. "The Impact of Benefit Generosity on Workers' Compensation Claims: Evidence and Implications," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 436-481, July.
    5. Stefan Pichler & Katherine Wen & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2021. "Positive Health Externalities of Mandating Paid Sick Leave," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(3), pages 715-743, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rahi Abouk & Keshar M. Ghimire & Johanna Catherine Maclean & David Powell, 2023. "Pain Management and Work Capacity: Evidence From Workers’ Compensation and Marijuana Legalization," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(3), pages 737-770, June.
    2. Xiuming Dong & Johanna Catherine Maclean & David Powell, 2024. "Social Insurance Spillovers: Evidence From Paid Sick Leave Mandates and Workers' Compensation," NBER Working Papers 32751, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Marika Cabral & Marcus Dillender, 2024. "The Impact of Benefit Generosity on Workers' Compensation Claims: Evidence and Implications," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 436-481, July.
    4. Raj Chetty & Amy Finkelstein, 2012. "Social Insurance: Connecting Theory to Data," NBER Working Papers 18433, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. de Meza, David & Webb, David C., 2017. "False diagnoses: pitfalls of testing for asymmetric information in insurance markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65744, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Nicolas R. Ziebarth & Martin Karlsson, 2014. "The Effects Of Expanding The Generosity Of The Statutory Sickness Insurance System," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 208-230, March.
    7. Johannes Spinnewijn, 2017. "Heterogeneity, Demand for Insurance, and Adverse Selection," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 308-343, February.
    8. Sebastian Soika, 2018. "Moral Hazard and Advantageous Selection in Private Disability Insurance," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 43(1), pages 97-125, January.
    9. Dillender, Marcus, 2015. "The effect of health insurance on workers’ compensation filing: Evidence from the affordable care act's age-based threshold for dependent coverage," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 204-228.
    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. Casey Rothschild & Paul D. Thistle, 2022. "Supply, demand, and selection in insurance markets: Theory and applications in pictures," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 25(4), pages 419-444, December.
    12. Gemmo, Irina & Kubitza, Christian & Rothschild, Casey, 2020. "Constrained efficient equilibria in selection markets with continuous types," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    13. Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2018. "Social Insurance and Health," Contributions to Economic Analysis, in: Health Econometrics, volume 127, pages 57-84, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    14. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein, 2023. "Empirical analyses of selection and welfare in insurance markets: a self-indulgent survey," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 48(2), pages 167-191, September.
    15. Kelly D. Edmiston, 2006. "Workers’ Compensation and State Employment Growth," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 121-145, February.
    16. Paul Heaton & Caleb Flint, 2021. "Medicaid coverage expansions and liability insurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 88(1), pages 29-51, March.
    17. Seonghoon Kim & Kanghyock Koh, 2022. "Health insurance and subjective well‐being: Evidence from two healthcare reforms in the United States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 233-249, January.
    18. Fang, H., 2016. "Insurance Markets for the Elderly," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 237-309, Elsevier.
    19. Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2013. "Long-term absenteeism and moral hazard—Evidence from a natural experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 277-292.
    20. Martin Gaynor & Kate Ho & Robert J. Town, 2015. "The Industrial Organization of Health-Care Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(2), pages 235-284, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H0 - Public Economics - - General
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26103. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.