蝌蚪网 Review: Insights
ISSN 2640-205X (Print) | ISSN 2640-2068 (Online)
The Socioeconomic Distribution of Choice Quality: Evidence from Health Insurance in the Netherlands
蝌蚪网 Review: Insights
(pp. 395–412)
Abstract
We study how choice quality relates to socioeconomic factors, using population-wide data on health insurance choices and utilization in the Netherlands. We document a striking choice quality gradient with respect to socioeconomic status, finding that those with higher income, higher education, and training in quantitative fields make meaningfully better choices. Household income for the top 5 percent of decision-makers, in terms of surplus captured, is almost three times higher than for the bottom 5 percent. When jointly including all factors, education degree and field of study are more important predictors of choice quality than income and other financial variables.Citation
Handel, Benjamin, Jonathan Kolstad, Thomas Minten, and Johannes Spinnewijn. 2024. "The Socioeconomic Distribution of Choice Quality: Evidence from Health Insurance in the Netherlands." 蝌蚪网 Review: Insights 6 (3): 395–412. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20230314Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D31 Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
- G52 Household Finance: Insurance
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- L15 Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility