The Impact of Health Insurance on Stockholding: A Regression Discontinuity Approach

Dimitris Christelis, Dimitris Georgarakos and Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano

No 8635, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using data from the US Health and Retirement Study, we study the causal effect of increased health insurance coverage through Medicare and the associated reduction in health-related background risk on financial risk-taking. Given the onset of Medicare at age 65, we identify our effect of interest using a regression discontinuity approach. We find that getting Medicare coverage induces stockholding for those with at least some college education, but not for their less-educated counterparts. Hence, our results indicate that a reduction in background risk induces financial risk-taking in individuals for whom informational and pecuniary stock market participation costs are relatively low.

Keywords: regression discontinuity; stockholding; Medicare; health insurance; household finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 G11 I13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2014-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hea and nep-ias
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - revised version published in: Journal of Health Economics, 2020, 69, 102246.

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Related works:
Journal Article: The impact of health insurance on stockholding: A regression discontinuity approach (2020)
Working Paper: The Impact of Health Insurance on Stockholding: A Regression Discontinuity Approach (2014)
Working Paper: The impact of health insurance on stockholding: A regression discontinuity approach (2014)
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