Effects of Health Insurance Mandates on Employment
Publication Date
2-23-2010
Grant Type
Early Career Research Award
Description
This research will address the economic implications of mandated health insurance benefits. Given that mandates almost inevitably increase the cost of providing health insurance and therefore overall compensation, it seems obvious that they will have effects on employment, growth, business starts, wages, and the provision of health insurance by employers. However, the extent of these effects is far from clear and of great import; if the effects are relatively small, then mandates may be a relatively nondistortionary way of regulating health insurance, at least from the perspective of employment. If, on the other hand, the effects are large, policymakers should take great care before imposing new regulations. This research will use state-level data across time to identify the effects of health mandates.
Grant Product
Meer, Jonathan and Jeremy West. Identifying the effects of health insurance mandates on small business employment and pay, Technical Report, Texas A&M, College Station, 2011