Yaying Zhou, University of Queensland: Gender in Household Benefit Plan Choice

Title: In Sickness and in Health Insurance: Gender in Household Benefit Plan Choice

Abstract: : I document that households in the United States are more likely to choose health plans offered by the husband’s employer rather than the wife’s. This gap may be attributed to gender disparities in employment status, plan quality, or an inherent gender effect. Using a novel identification strategy that holds plan quality and employment status fixed, I find that the gender effect increases the likelihood of selecting the husband’s plan by 6.3%. By estimating a structural model of household health insurance choices, I quantify that the gender effect results in an average loss of $226 per household per year.

Presenter:  Yaying Zhou, University of Queensland

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