Health insurance, agricultural production and investments.

We study the effects of health insurance coverage on agricultural production decisions, examining the causal relationships by exploiting a health care reform and providing a theoretical framework to elucidate underlying mechanisms. We find that the reform led to long-run increases in total cultivation investments and output, accompanied by a shift in households' cultivation portfolio towards riskier crops. We explain these findings using a model of agricultural investment, highlighting the important roles of health insurance in mitigating background medical expenditure risks and enhancing health. We also find that the reform improved households' financial well-being through reduced debts and defaults on loans.

Liu K ，Prommawin B ，Schroyen F 《-》

Catastrophic health expenditure in households with chronic disease patients: A pre-post comparison of the New Health Care Reform in Shaanxi Province, China.

Xu Y ，Ma J ，Wu N ，Fan X ，Zhang T ，Zhou Z ，Gao J ，Ren J ，Chen G ... -  《PLoS One》

Health Reform, Health Insurance, and Selection: Estimating Selection into Health Insurance Using the Massachusetts Health Reform.

Hackmann MB ，Kolstad JT ，Kowalski AE 《AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW》

The Role of Medical Expenditure Risk in Portfolio Allocation Decisions.

Economic theory suggests that medical spending risk affects the extent to which households are willing to accept financial risk, and consequently their investment portfolios. In this study, we focus on the elderly for whom medical spending represents a substantial risk. We exploit the exogenous reduction in prescription drug spending risk because of the introduction of Medicare Part D in the U.S. in 2006 to identify the causal effect of medical spending risk on portfolio choice. Consistent with theory, we find that Medicare-eligible persons increased risky investment after the introduction of prescription drug coverage, relative to a younger, ineligible cohort. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ayyagari P ，He D 《-》

Welfare reform and insurance coverage during the pregnancy period: implications for preconception and interconception care.

Simon KI ，Handler A 《-》