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Health Insurance Provision and Labor Market Efficiency in the United States

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  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Abstract

Health Insurance has claimed a prominent place on the policy agenda in the United States. Critics argue that the status quo has lead to spiraling health care costs, an inequitable distribution of quality medical care, and that employer-provided health insurance has "locked" individuals into jobs, thereby interfering with the efficient matching of employers and employees. In contrast to the United States, Germany guarantees virtually all citizens health insurance. Insurance is portable, but the cost may change when an individual changes jobs, again leading to the potential for job-lock. This paper assesses the empirical magnitude of health insurance-related impediments to job mobility in the United States and Germany, The results show little evidence that health insurance provision interferes with job mobility in either the United States or Germany, thus suggesting that these employer-based systems for providing the health insurance portion of the social safety net do not alter this aspect of labor market efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin, 1993. "Health Insurance Provision and Labor Market Efficiency in the United States," NBER Working Papers 4388, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4388
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, "undated". "Job-Lock: An Impediment to Labor Mobility? Is Health Insurance Crippling the Labor Market?," Economics Public Policy Brief Archive 10, Levy Economics Institute.
    2. Kim Sébastien Pham, 1996. "La réforme du système de santé américain : entre assurance et solidarité," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 291(1), pages 71-85.
    3. Jonathan Gruber & Brigitte C. Madrian, 1993. "Limited Insurance Portability and Job Mobility: The Effects of Public Policy on Job-Lock," NBER Working Papers 4479, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Bansak, Cynthia & Raphael, Steven, 2005. "The State Health Insurance Program and Job Mobility: Identifying Job Lock among Working Parents in Near-Poor Households," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt87n5j524, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    5. Werding, Martin & McLennan, Stuart, 2011. "International portability of health-cost coverage : concepts and experience," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 63929, The World Bank.
    6. Brigitte C. Madrian, 1994. "Employment-Based Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Is there Evidence of Job-Lock?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 27-54.
    7. Cynthia Bansak & Steven Raphael, 2008. "The State Children's Health Insurance Program and Job Mobility: Identifying Job Lock among Working Parents in Near-Poor Households," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(4), pages 564-579, July.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health

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