Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Theory and Evidence

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Abstract
It is widely hypothesized that health insurance deters job mobility because of imperfections in the labor and health insurance markets. This paper describes the nature of the welfare loss attributable to such "job-lock" and reviews several studies that empirically test the job-lock hypothesis. The authors find that estimates of the magnitude and importance of job-lock vary. Studies that support the job-lock hypothesis typically report a 20% to 40% reduction in mobility rates, depending on worker marital status and gender. Their own estimates suggest that although job-lock is present in the labor market, the proportion of workers affected and the magnitude of the welfare loss are less than generally supposed.

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