Employer-provided health insurance and JOB change

The author uses data from the 1988-2000 Annual Demographic Files of the Current Population Survey to revisit the question of whether job lock exists. Limiting the sample to males with employer-provided health insurance, it is tested whether the lack of a potential source of alternative coverage through the individual's spouse affects his or her job mobility. The author controls for both characteristics of the respondent and spouse, as well as the attributes of their jobs. Although evidence produced by other researchers using similar methodology has been mixed, this article presents significant evidence that employer-provided health insurance lowers mobility. (JEL J320, J620)
I. INTRODUCTION The fact that employers are the primary providers of health insurance in the United States raises at least two concerns. First, people who lose their jobs may also [...]