蝌蚪网 Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Impact of Youth Medicaid Eligibility on Adult Incarceration
蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16,
no. 1, January 2024
(pp. 121–56)
Abstract
This paper identifies an important spillover associated with public health insurance: reduced incarceration. In 1990, Congress passed legislation that increased Medicaid eligibility for individuals born after September 30, 1983. We show that Black children born just after the cutoff are 5 percent less likely to be incarcerated by age 28, driven primarily by a decrease in incarcerations connected to financially motivated offenses. Children of other races, who experienced almost no gain in Medicaid coverage as a result of the policy, demonstrate no such decline. We find that reduced incarceration in adulthood substantially offsets the initial costs of expanding eligibility.Citation
Arenberg, Samuel, Seth Neller, and Sam Stripling. 2024. "The Impact of Youth Medicaid Eligibility on Adult Incarceration." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics 16 (1): 121–56. DOI: 10.1257/app.20200785Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law