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on Insurance Economics |
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Issue of 2013‒09‒13
eight papers chosen by Soumitra K Mallick Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management |
| By: | Shimazaki, Kenji |
| Keywords: | universal insurance coverage , policy impact , social insurance-based model , tax-based model , company-based health insurance |
| Date: | 2013–07–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:1004&r=ias |
| By: | Hubert Janicki; Brett O’Hara; Alice Zawacki |
| Abstract: | The degree to which firms contribute to the payment of workers’ health insurance premiums is an important consideration in the measurement of income and for understanding the potential impact of the 2010 Affordable Care Act on employment-based health insurance participation. Currently the U.S. Census Bureau imputes employer contributions in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey based on data from the 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey. The goal of this paper is to assess the extent to which this imputation methodology produces estimates reflective of the current distribution of employer contributions. The paper uses recent contributions data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component to estimate a new model to inform the imputation procedure and to compare the resulting distribution of contributions. These new estimates are compared with those produced under current production methods across employee and employer characteristics. |
| Keywords: | health insurance, employer contributions, healthcare reform |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:13-41&r=ias |
| By: | Gaganis , Chrysovalantis (Department of Economics, University of Crete, Greece); Hasan, Iftekhar (Schools of Business, Fordham University and Bank of Finland); Pasiouras , Fotios (Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK, and Financial Engineering Laboratory, Technical University of Crete, Greece) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether the capital market values the efficiency of firms. After tracing stock returns and efficiency changes of 399 listed insurance firms in 52 countries during the 2002-2008 period, the paper reports a positive and statistically significant relationship between profit efficiency change and market adjusted stock returns. However, there is no robust evidence that cost efficiency change is associated with stock returns. |
| Keywords: | efficiency; insurance; stock returns |
| JEL: | C22 C34 G22 |
| Date: | 2013–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofrdp:2013_014&r=ias |
| By: | Nagler, Paula (UNU-MERIT / MGSoG) |
| Abstract: | The introduction of unemployment insurance savings accounts (UISA) in Chile in October 2002 brought in more comprehensive unemployment protection while decreasing the opportunity costs of job change. Being the first to empirically investigate the effect of UISA on employment duration, this paper examines (i) whether the introduction of UISA affected employment duration among formal private sector workers, and (ii) the magnitude of this effect. The analysis is performed on longitudinal social protection data and uses survival analysis techniques, including non-parametric, semi-parametric and parametric analysis, and competing-risk models. The paper finds that workers participating in the scheme show an increased hazard ratio of leaving employment, or accelerated time to employment termination. The effect is larger for workers becoming unemployed or inactive compared to workers changing jobs. The results provide strong support that the introduction of UISA led to shorter employment duration and higher mobility of the workforce in Chile. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts, Employment Duration, Survival Analysis, Chile |
| JEL: | C41 J63 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2013039&r=ias |
| By: | Daniel Kemptner |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a dynamic life cycle model of health risks, employment, early retirement, and wealth accumulation in order to analyze the health-related risks of consumption and old age poverty. In particular, the model includes a health process, the interaction between health and employment risks, and an explicit modeling of the German public insurance schemes. I rely on a dynamic programming discrete choice framework and estimate the model using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. I quantify the health-related life cycle risks by simulating scenarios where health shocks do or do not occur at different points in the life cycle for individuals with differing endowments. Moreover, a policy simulation investigates minimum pension benefits as an insurance against old age poverty. While such a reform raises a concern about an increase in abuse of the early retirement option, the simulations indicate that a means test mitigates<br /> the moral hazard problem substantially. |
| Keywords: | dynamic programming, discrete choice, health, employment, early retirement, consumption, tax and transfer system |
| JEL: | C61 I14 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp583&r=ias |
| By: | Kolsrud, Jonas (Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Reduced form estimations of precautionary saving with respect to labor market risk have hitherto failed to consider that a decrease of say unemployment probability or an increase in unemployment insurance (UI) generosity affects saving not only by reducing the expected variance in earnings but also by raising expected earnings. This paper studies the possibility of decomposing the treatment effect of UI on asset accumulation into two parts; one part where more generous UI leads to raised expected earnings and a second part where a more generous UI reduces the expected variation in earnings. The decomposition is applied to rich Swedish register data on both financial assets and debt. UI’s effect on assets is identified with a kinked policy rule in the UI scheme. First, increased UI generosity has a significant effect, both economically and statistically, on asset holdings; a one percentage point increase in UI benefits decrease net financial asset holdings by 1 percentage point. Second, decomposing the total effect UI has on asset accumulation shows that raised expected earnings increase savings while a decreased variation in earnings decrease saving. Not accounting for the effect on expected earnings on saving underestimates the impact UI has on precautionary saving by 70 percent. |
| Keywords: | Saving; wealth; unemployment benefit; unemployment; consumption smoothing |
| JEL: | D91 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2013–08–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:uunewp:2013_014&r=ias |
| By: | Krzysztof Kontek (Artal Investments); Michal Lewandowski (Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces the concept of range-dependent utility. Instead of reference dependence which evaluates outcomes relative to some reference point, we postulate dependence on a given lottery (set of lotteries) outcomes range. In this way the decision maker is a fully rational expected utility maximizer only within a certain range. Range-dependent utility enables experimental results to be explained without recourse to the probability weighting function. Experimental data show that range-dependent utilities can be normalized to obtain decision utility - a single utility function able to describe decisions involving lotteries defned over diferent ranges. Both the data analysis as well as theoretical considerations concerning monotonicity indicate that the decision utility should be of S-shape |
| Keywords: | range-dependent utility, decision utility, Certainty Equivalent, quasilinear mean, Expected Utility Theory, Prospect Theory, Allais paradox, insurance and gambling |
| JEL: | D81 D03 C91 |
| Date: | 2013–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wse:wpaper:69&r=ias |
| By: | Ghazi Tabatabaei, M.; Mehri, N.; Messkoub, M. |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the Time Use Survey of Iran of 2008 and 2009 to estimate the monetary value of unpaid domestic work of urban housewives. The surveys recorded domestic work activities such as cooking and cleaning and general care of household members as well as care of children and their education. Using the market-based approach to estimate the monetary value of unpaid domestic work we collected data on the cost of buying in services for domestic work and for education of children from ‘nursing agencies’ and private education colleges in main cities of Iran in the summer of 2011 that were adjusted to obtain the 2008 and 2009 prices.The market value of domestic work of urban housewives was estimated to be US$25 billion in 2008 and US$29 billion in 2009. These were about 8.6 per cent of non-oil GDP in the same years. Our estimates complement other findings from around the world that confirm substantial contribution of housewives to the economy. These contributions have gone unrecorded and not compensated in most countries. At a minimum, housewives can be insured against basic contingencies of life such has health problems, poverty and disabilities and supported in old age. Our work and other studies do provide the economic and social arguments for costing and putting into practice the long overdue support for housewives; they have earned it! |
| Keywords: | economic evaluation;Iran;social insurance;care economy;domestic unpaid work;feminism and gender studies;generations and regeneration;production and reproduction;time-use |
| Date: | 2013–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:euriss:562&r=ias |