Labor Market Effects of Hawaii'S Mandatory Employer-Provided Health Insurance

Norman K. Thurston

ILR Review, 1997, vol. 51, issue 1, 117-135

Abstract: The author analyzes how mandatory employer provision of health insurance in Hawaii, which became law in 1974, affected workers' wages, employment, and insurance coverage. Between 1970 and 1990, the Hawaiian industries most affected by the mandate had slower wage growth than other Hawaiian industries, but more rapid wage growth than the same industries in the nation as a whole. The author speculates that the effects of unmeasured economy-wide positive demand shocks eclipsed the wage effects of the law. Hawaii's employment growth exceeded that of the country as a whole, but the percentage of Hawaiian workers employed less than 20 hours per week (and thus exempt from the law) was significantly higher than the national average. Insurance coverage for Hawaiian workers of all classes (including those exempt from the act)—and, indeed, for workers and nonworkers of all ages—significantly exceeded the national average in the early 1990s.

Date: 1997
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:51:y:1997:i:1:p:117-135

DOI: 10.1177/001979399705100108

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