Employer-Provided Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Did the Affordable Care Act Reduce Job Lock?

21 Pages Posted: 23 Sep 2013 Last revised: 19 Mar 2015

See all articles by James B. Bailey

James B. Bailey

Providence College Department of Economics

Anna Chorniy

Princeton University - Center for Health and Wellbeing

Date Written: September 23, 2013

Abstract

Many have argued that concerns over health insurance reduce labor market mobility in the United States, causing a “job lock” effect. We take advantage of the novel natural experiment created by the Affordable Care Act's dependent coverage mandate to estimate the magnitude of the job lock effect for young adults. Using the 2008-2013 Current Population Survey and a difference-in-difference research design, we find that the expansion of dependent coverage did not increase job mobility, suggesting that job lock is not a major concern for young adults.

Keywords: Job Lock, Affordable Care Act, Dependent Coverage Mandate, Health Insurance, Job Mobility

JEL Classification: J62, I13, I18

Suggested Citation

Bailey, James B. and Chorniy, Anna, Employer-Provided Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Did the Affordable Care Act Reduce Job Lock? (September 23, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2329910 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2329910

James B. Bailey (Contact Author)

Providence College Department of Economics ( email )

1 Cunningham Sq
Providence, RI 02918
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://economics.providence.edu/faculty-members/james-bailey/

Anna Chorniy

Princeton University - Center for Health and Wellbeing ( email )

Woodrow Wilson School
Princeton, NJ 08544
United States

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