Skip to main content

Social Insurance and Public Policy

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Book cover The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

Social insurance expenditures are the largest and fastest-growing component of government expenditures in the developed world. The design of social insurance programmes reflects the trade-off between insurance and incentives. This article reviews the impact of social insurance programmes on both insurance against adverse events and incentives for adverse behaviour. It concludes with lessons for optimal social insurance programme design.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 6,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 8,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Akerlof, G.A. 1970. The market for lemons: Quality uncertainty and the market mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economic 84: 488–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, P.M., and B.D. Meyer. 2000. The effects of the unemployment insurance payroll tax on wages, employment, claims and denials. Journal of Public Economics 78: 81–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baily, M. 1978. Some aspects of optimal unemployment insurance. Journal of Public Economics 10: 379–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, M., and T. Crossley. 2001. Unemployment insurance levels and consumption changes. Journal of Public Economics 80: 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Case, A. 1995. Symposium on consumption smoothing in developing countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives 9(3): 81–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chetty, R., and A. Looney. 2006. Consumption smoothing and the welfare consequences of social insurance in developing economies. Journal of Public Economics 90: 2351–2356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie, J., and J. Gruber. 1996a. Saving babies: The efficacy and cost of recent changes in the Medicaid eligibility of pregnant women. Journal of Political Economy 104: 1263–1296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie, J., and J. Gruber. 1996b. Health insurance eligibility, utilization of medical care, and child health. Quarterly Journal of Economics 111: 431–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutler, D. 2002. Equality, efficiency and market fundamentals: The dynamics of international medical care reform. Journal of Economic Literature 40: 881–906.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutler, D.M., and S.J. Reber. 1998. Paying for health insurance: The trade-off between competition and adverse selection. Quarterly Journal of Economics 113: 433–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutler, D., and R. Zeckhauser. 2000. The anatomy of health insurance. In Handbook of halth economics, ed. A. Culyer and J. Newhouse. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldstein, M.S. 1973. The welfare loss of excess health insurance. Journal of Political Economy 81: 251–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldstein, M.S., and D. Altman. 1998. Unemployment insurance savings accounts. Working paper No. 6860. Cambridge, MA: NBER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkelstein, A., and J. Poterba. 2004. Adverse selection in insurance markets: Policyholder evidence from the U.K. annuity market. Journal of Political Economy 112: 183–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gertler, P., and J. Gruber. 2002. Insuring consumption against illness. American Economic Review 92: 51–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J. 1997. The consumption smoothing benefits of unemployment insurance. American Economic Review 87: 192–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J. 2000. Disability insurance benefits and labor supply. Journal of Political Economy 108: 1162–1183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J. 2005. Public finance and public policy, 1st ed. New York: Worth Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J., and D.A. Wise. 1999. Introduction and summary. In Social security and retirement around the world, ed. J. Gruber and D.A. Wise. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J., and D.A. Wise. 2008. Social security and well-being around the world. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J., and A. Yelowitz. 1999. Public health insurance and private savings. Journal of Political Economy 107: 1249–1274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A.B.. 1991. Workers’ compensation insurance and the duration of workplace injuries. Mimeo: Princeton University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A.B.., and B.D. Meyer. 2002. Labor supply effects of social insurance. In Handbook of public economics, vol. 4, ed. A.J. Auerbach and M. Feldstein. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lurie, N., N.B. Ward, M.F. Shapiro, and R.H. Brook. 1984. Termination from MediCal – Does it affect health? New England Journal of Medicine 311: 480–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, B.D. 1989. A quasi-experimental approach to the effects of unemployment insurance. Working paper No. 3159. Cambridge, MA: NBER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newhouse, J. 1996. Reimbursing health plans and health providers: Selection vs. efficiency in production. Journal of Economic Literature 34: 1236–1263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newhouse, J.P., and The Insurance Experiment Group. 1993. Free for all? Lessons from the RAND health insurance experiment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettersson-Lidbom, P., and P.S. Thoursie. 2006. Temporary disability insurance and labor supply: Evidence from a natural experiment. Mimeo: Stockholm University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothschild, M., and J. Stiglitz. 1976. Equilibrium in competitive insurance markets: An essay on the economics of imperfect information. Quarterly Journal of Economics 90: 629–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Topel, R.H. 1983. On layoffs and unemployment insurance. American Economic Review 73: 541–559.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Copyright information

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Gruber, J. (2018). Social Insurance and Public Policy. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2734

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics