The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Voter Participation: Evidence from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment

Katherine Baicker and Amy Finkelstein

No 25244, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In 2008, a group of uninsured low-income adults in Oregon was selected by lottery for the chance to apply for Medicaid. Using this randomized design and state administrative data on voter behavior, we analyze how a Medicaid expansion affected voter turnout and registration. We find that Medicaid increased voter turnout in the November 2008 Presidential election by about 7 percent overall, with the effects concentrated in men (18 percent increase) and in residents of democratic counties (10 percent increase); there is suggestive evidence that the increase in voting reflected new voter registrations, rather than increased turnout among pre-existing registrants. There is no evidence of an increase in voter turnout in subsequent elections, up to and including the November 2010 midterm election.

JEL-codes: I13 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-hea, nep-ias and nep-pol
Note: AG EH PE POL
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published as Katherine Baicker & Amy Finkelstein, 2019. "The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Voter Participation: Evidence from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, vol 14(4), pages 383-400.

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