American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Estimating the Value of Public Insurance Using Complementary Private Insurance
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 11,
no. 3, August 2019
(pp. 88–129)
Abstract
The welfare associated with public insurance is often difficult to quantify because the demand for coverage is unobserved and thus cannot be used to analyze welfare. However, in many settings, individuals can purchase private insurance to supplement public coverage. This paper outlines an approach to use data and variation from private complementary insurance to quantify welfare associated with counterfactuals related to compulsory public insurance. We then apply this approach using administrative data on disability insurance. Our findings suggest that public disability insurance generates substantial surplus for the sample population, and there may be gains to increasing the generosity of coverage.Citation
Cabral, Marika, and Mark R. Cullen. 2019. "Estimating the Value of Public Insurance Using Complementary Private Insurance." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11 (3): 88–129. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170118Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
- H55 Social Security and Public Pensions
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J32 Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
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