Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/64329 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
Upjohn Institute Working Paper No. 10-167
Publisher: 
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Kalamazoo, MI
Abstract: 
Despite a strong interest in entrepreneurship, economists have devoted little attention to the role of health insurance availability. I investigate the impact of a unique policy experiment - New Jersey's Individual Health Coverage Plan - on self-employment. Implemented in August 1993, the IHCP included an extensive set of reforms that loosened the historical connection between traditional employment and health insurance by facilitating access to coverage that was not employer-linked. I find evidence that the IHCP increased self-employment among New Jersey residents, relative to various sets of comparison states. Consistent with key policy features, including pure community rating of premiums, I find larger behavioral responses for unmarried, older, and observably less-healthy individuals.
Subjects: 
Health Insurance
Entrepreneurship
Job Lock
JEL: 
I18
J32
J62
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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