SMU SOE Seminar (Oct 5, 2018): Does Health Insurance Improve Health and Save Lives? Evidence from China

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ABSTRACT Whether health insurance matters for health has been a central issue for decades. However, due to the difficulty of identification, the results remain uncertain and inconsistent. In this paper, we take advantage of the arguably exogenous expansion of China’s health insurance programs to identify the causal effect of health insurance on elderly people’s health status and mortality. We find that health insurance coverage has significantly improved self-reported health, ADL disability and sickness in two weeks and reduced mortality, especially on the people with lower education. We also find differential impact of urban and rural insurance programs with different level of generosity. Further investigation reveals multiple potential channels through which health insurance affects health, including health service utilization and nutritional intake. Click here to view the CV.
		PRESENTER Xiaoyan Lei Peking University
		RESEARCH FIELDS Economics of Aging Health Economics Labor Economics
		DATE: 5 October 2018 (Friday)
		TIME: 4pm - 5.30pm
		VENUE: Meeting Room 5.1, Level 5 School of Economics Singapore Management University 90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903