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Author: Schwab, Benjamin
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Cowan, Benjamin W.
Schwab, Benjamin
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and the Gender Wage Gap
Journal of Health Economics 45 (January 2016): 103-114.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629615001095
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Gender Differences; Health Care; Insurance, Health; Wage Gap

During prime working years, women have higher expected healthcare expenses than men. However, employees' insurance rates are not gender-rated in the employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) market. Thus, women may experience lower wages in equilibrium from employers who offer health insurance to their employees. We show that female employees suffer a larger wage gap relative to men when they hold ESI: our results suggest this accounts for roughly 10% of the overall gender wage gap. For a full-time worker, this pay gap due to ESI is on the order of the expected difference in healthcare expenses between women and men.
Bibliography Citation
Cowan, Benjamin W. and Benjamin Schwab. "Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and the Gender Wage Gap." Journal of Health Economics 45 (January 2016): 103-114.
2. Cowan, Benjamin W.
Schwab, Benjamin
The Incidence of the Healthcare Costs of Smoking
Journal of Health Economics 30,5 (September 2011): 1094-1102.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629611000828
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Health Care; Insurance, Health; Obesity; Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Wage Gap; Wage Penalty/Career Penalty

Smokers earn less than non-smokers, but much is still unknown about the source(s) of the smoker's wage gap. We build on the work of Bhattacharya and Bundorf (2009), who provide evidence that obese workers receive lower wages on account of their higher expected healthcare costs. Similarly, we find that smokers who hold employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) receive significantly lower wages than their non-smoking peers, while smokers who are not insured through their employer endure no such wage penalty. Our results have two implications: first, the incidence of smokers' elevated medical costs appears to be borne by smokers themselves in the form of lower wages. Second, differences in healthcare costs between smokers and non-smokers are a significant source of the smoker's wage gap.
Bibliography Citation
Cowan, Benjamin W. and Benjamin Schwab. "The Incidence of the Healthcare Costs of Smoking." Journal of Health Economics 30,5 (September 2011): 1094-1102.