Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular

Seguro Popular was introduced in 2002 to provide health insurance to the 50 million Mexicans without Social Security. This paper tests whether the program has had unintended consequences, distorting workers' incentives to operate in the inform...

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Main Authors: Aterido, Reyes, Hallward-Driemeier, Mary, Pages, Carmen
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110831083052
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3548
id okr-10986-3548
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-35482021-04-23T14:02:10Z Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular Aterido, Reyes Hallward-Driemeier, Mary Pages, Carmen AGGREGATE PRODUCTIVITY BABIES BUSINESS CYCLE CITIES CLINICS DEPENDANTS DEPENDENT CHILDREN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT POLICY DWELLING ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMICS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ELDERLY EMPLOYMENT STATUS EQUALITY EXTENDED FAMILIES FAMILIES FEMALE FEMALE HEADED HOUSEHOLDS FORMAL EDUCATION FORMAL LABOR MARKET FORMAL SECTOR WORKERS GENDER HEALTH CARE HEALTH CARE ACCESS HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH FACILITIES HEALTH INSURANCE HEALTH OUTCOMES HEALTH SERVICES HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION HOSPITALS HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS HOUSEHOLD LEVEL HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLDS INCOME INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMAL LABOR MARKETS INFORMAL SECTOR JOB SECURITY JOBS LABOR DEMAND LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES LABOR MARKET REFORMS LABOR MARKET SEGMENTATION LABOR MOBILITY LABOR SUPPLY LABOR SURVEYS LABOUR LEVELS OF EDUCATION LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MARKET WAGE MEDICAL FACILITIES MEDICINES MIGRATION NUMBER OF ADULTS NUMBER OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS NUMBER OF PEOPLE NUMBER OF WORKERS NUTRITION OLDER PEOPLE OLDER WORKERS PENSIONS POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY CHANGE POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POOR FAMILIES PRIVATE COMPANY PRIVATE SECTOR PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES PUBLIC POLICY RESPECT RETIREMENT RICHER PEOPLE SAFETY SAFETY NETS SALARIED EMPLOYMENT SECONDARY EDUCATION SECONDARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOLING SELF EMPLOYED SERVICE DELIVERY SMALLER HOUSEHOLDS SOCIAL BENEFITS SOCIAL POLICY SOCIAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SECURITY SPOUSE SPOUSES UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES UNSKILLED WORKERS URBAN AREAS URBAN POPULATION URBAN POPULATIONS WAGE EMPLOYMENT WAGE GAINS WAGES WOMAN WORKER WORKERS YOUNGER WORKERS Seguro Popular was introduced in 2002 to provide health insurance to the 50 million Mexicans without Social Security. This paper tests whether the program has had unintended consequences, distorting workers' incentives to operate in the informal sector. The analysis examines the impact of Seguro Popular on disaggregated labor market decisions, taking into account that program coverage depends not only on the individual's employment status, but also that of other household members. The identification strategy relies on the variation in Seguro Popular's rollout across municipalities and time, with the difference-in-difference estimation controlling for household fixed effects. The paper finds that Seguro Popular lowers formality by 0.4-0.7 percentage points, with adjustments largely occurring within a few years of the program's introduction. Rather than encouraging exit from the formal sector, Seguro Popular is associated with a 3.1 percentage point reduction (a 20 percent decline) in the inflow of workers into formality. Income effects are also apparent, with significantly decreased flows out of unemployment and lower labor force participation. The impact is larger for those with less education, in larger households, and with someone else in the household guaranteeing Social Security coverage. However, workers pay for part of these benefits with lower wages in the informal sector. 2012-03-19T18:04:26Z 2012-03-19T18:04:26Z 2011-08-01 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110831083052 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3548 English Paper is funded by the Knowledge for Change Program (KCP),Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5785 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Latin America & Caribbean Latin America & Caribbean North America America Mexico
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic AGGREGATE PRODUCTIVITY
BABIES
BUSINESS CYCLE
CITIES
CLINICS
DEPENDANTS
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DWELLING
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMICS
EDUCATED WOMEN
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
ELDERLY
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
EQUALITY
EXTENDED FAMILIES
FAMILIES
FEMALE
FEMALE HEADED HOUSEHOLDS
FORMAL EDUCATION
FORMAL LABOR MARKET
FORMAL SECTOR WORKERS
GENDER
HEALTH CARE
HEALTH CARE ACCESS
HEALTH EFFECTS
HEALTH FACILITIES
HEALTH INSURANCE
HEALTH OUTCOMES
HEALTH SERVICES
HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
HOSPITALS
HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS
HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT
INFORMAL LABOR MARKETS
INFORMAL SECTOR
JOB SECURITY
JOBS
LABOR DEMAND
LABOR FORCE
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
LABOR MARKET
LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES
LABOR MARKET REFORMS
LABOR MARKET SEGMENTATION
LABOR MOBILITY
LABOR SUPPLY
LABOR SURVEYS
LABOUR
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
MARKET WAGE
MEDICAL FACILITIES
MEDICINES
MIGRATION
NUMBER OF ADULTS
NUMBER OF CHILDREN
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
NUMBER OF PEOPLE
NUMBER OF WORKERS
NUTRITION
OLDER PEOPLE
OLDER WORKERS
PENSIONS
POLICY ANALYSIS
POLICY CHANGE
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
POLICY MAKERS
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POOR FAMILIES
PRIVATE COMPANY
PRIVATE SECTOR
PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES
PROGRESS
PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
PUBLIC POLICY
RESPECT
RETIREMENT
RICHER PEOPLE
SAFETY
SAFETY NETS
SALARIED EMPLOYMENT
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SECONDARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOLING
SELF EMPLOYED
SERVICE DELIVERY
SMALLER HOUSEHOLDS
SOCIAL BENEFITS
SOCIAL POLICY
SOCIAL PROGRAMS
SOCIAL SECURITY
SPOUSE
SPOUSES
UNEMPLOYED
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
UNSKILLED WORKERS
URBAN AREAS
URBAN POPULATION
URBAN POPULATIONS
WAGE EMPLOYMENT
WAGE GAINS
WAGES
WOMAN
WORKER
WORKERS
YOUNGER WORKERS
spellingShingle AGGREGATE PRODUCTIVITY
BABIES
BUSINESS CYCLE
CITIES
CLINICS
DEPENDANTS
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DWELLING
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMICS
EDUCATED WOMEN
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
ELDERLY
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
EQUALITY
EXTENDED FAMILIES
FAMILIES
FEMALE
FEMALE HEADED HOUSEHOLDS
FORMAL EDUCATION
FORMAL LABOR MARKET
FORMAL SECTOR WORKERS
GENDER
HEALTH CARE
HEALTH CARE ACCESS
HEALTH EFFECTS
HEALTH FACILITIES
HEALTH INSURANCE
HEALTH OUTCOMES
HEALTH SERVICES
HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
HOSPITALS
HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS
HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT
INFORMAL LABOR MARKETS
INFORMAL SECTOR
JOB SECURITY
JOBS
LABOR DEMAND
LABOR FORCE
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
LABOR MARKET
LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES
LABOR MARKET REFORMS
LABOR MARKET SEGMENTATION
LABOR MOBILITY
LABOR SUPPLY
LABOR SURVEYS
LABOUR
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
MARKET WAGE
MEDICAL FACILITIES
MEDICINES
MIGRATION
NUMBER OF ADULTS
NUMBER OF CHILDREN
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
NUMBER OF PEOPLE
NUMBER OF WORKERS
NUTRITION
OLDER PEOPLE
OLDER WORKERS
PENSIONS
POLICY ANALYSIS
POLICY CHANGE
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
POLICY MAKERS
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POOR FAMILIES
PRIVATE COMPANY
PRIVATE SECTOR
PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES
PROGRESS
PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
PUBLIC POLICY
RESPECT
RETIREMENT
RICHER PEOPLE
SAFETY
SAFETY NETS
SALARIED EMPLOYMENT
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SECONDARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOLING
SELF EMPLOYED
SERVICE DELIVERY
SMALLER HOUSEHOLDS
SOCIAL BENEFITS
SOCIAL POLICY
SOCIAL PROGRAMS
SOCIAL SECURITY
SPOUSE
SPOUSES
UNEMPLOYED
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
UNSKILLED WORKERS
URBAN AREAS
URBAN POPULATION
URBAN POPULATIONS
WAGE EMPLOYMENT
WAGE GAINS
WAGES
WOMAN
WORKER
WORKERS
YOUNGER WORKERS
Aterido, Reyes
Hallward-Driemeier, Mary
Pages, Carmen
Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular
geographic_facet Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean
North America
America
Mexico
relation Paper is funded by the Knowledge for Change Program (KCP),Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5785
description Seguro Popular was introduced in 2002 to provide health insurance to the 50 million Mexicans without Social Security. This paper tests whether the program has had unintended consequences, distorting workers' incentives to operate in the informal sector. The analysis examines the impact of Seguro Popular on disaggregated labor market decisions, taking into account that program coverage depends not only on the individual's employment status, but also that of other household members. The identification strategy relies on the variation in Seguro Popular's rollout across municipalities and time, with the difference-in-difference estimation controlling for household fixed effects. The paper finds that Seguro Popular lowers formality by 0.4-0.7 percentage points, with adjustments largely occurring within a few years of the program's introduction. Rather than encouraging exit from the formal sector, Seguro Popular is associated with a 3.1 percentage point reduction (a 20 percent decline) in the inflow of workers into formality. Income effects are also apparent, with significantly decreased flows out of unemployment and lower labor force participation. The impact is larger for those with less education, in larger households, and with someone else in the household guaranteeing Social Security coverage. However, workers pay for part of these benefits with lower wages in the informal sector.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Aterido, Reyes
Hallward-Driemeier, Mary
Pages, Carmen
author_facet Aterido, Reyes
Hallward-Driemeier, Mary
Pages, Carmen
author_sort Aterido, Reyes
title Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular
title_short Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular
title_full Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular
title_fullStr Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular
title_full_unstemmed Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular
title_sort does expanding health insurance beyond formal-sector workers encourage informality? measuring the impact of mexico’s seguro popular
publishDate 2012
url http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110831083052
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3548
_version_ 1764387182124990464