Seminar Vol. 195

Title: The Effects of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion on Subjective Well-being 

Speaker: Seonghoon Kim, Singapore Management University 

Time: November 8th, 2019    13:30-15:00

Venue: Conference Room 106B, IESR, Zhonghui Building (College of Economics)

About the speaker:

Seonghoon Kim is Assistant Professor of Economics at Singapore Management University and a Research Affiliate at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Germany. His research interests focus on health economics, labour economics, and development economics. Dr. Kim's current research project examines the causal impacts of public policy on economic outcomes and subjective well-being, the role of work incentives in labour productivity and welfare and behavioural effects of access to health insurance. He has also published several articles in journals such as Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Development Economics, and Health Economics. He teaches Health Economics at the advanced undergraduate and Ph.D. levels and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Ohio State University.

Abstract:

This study analyzes the effects of the 2014 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion on the subjective well-being of individuals in the United States. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find that the expansion has significantly improved the overall life satisfaction of low-income non-elderly adults. Various sensitivity checks and falsification tests confirm the internal validity. Our findings imply that, without considering psychological benefits, the actual benefits of the ACA Medicaid expansion may be underemphasized.