Jessica Min

Job Market Paper

The Causes and Consequences of Rising Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Costs: Evidence from Insurer Mergers.

Abstract: Why have employer-sponsored health insurance (ESHI) costs substantially increased in the US, and how do these rising costs impact the labor market? I highlight the role of mergers between health insurers. Using an event study analysis and administrative data, I find that exposed firms in commuting zones with reduced insurer competition experience a 10 percent increase in ESHI premiums post-merger. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that insurer mergers account for 22 percent of the overall premiums increase from 1999 to 2020. Exposed firms experience employment losses of 4.4 percent. Losses are concentrated among noncollege-educated middle-income workers, suggesting a hollowing out of the middle class. Government spending on unemployment insurance programs increases post-merger. I incorporate my findings into a competitive labor market model and show that blocking insurer mergers would have mitigated the US-specific (net of Canada) decline in the non-college employment-to-population ratio by 10 percent. 

Working Papers

The Effect of Personal Income Taxes on Inflation: Evidence from U.S. States.

Abstract: This paper studies the effect of taxes for different income groups on inflation. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I compare states that enact large tax changes to states that do not have personal taxes from 1978 to 2017. I find tax cuts are inflationary. A 1 percentage point decrease in the state income average tax rate for lower-income groups increases prices by 2.5 percent, while a 1 percentage point decrease for higher-income groups increases prices by 1.5 percent. My results suggest the positive relationship between tax cuts and price growth is largely driven by consumer demand and employment growth.

Works in Progress

Mandated HIV/AIDS Education and Teen Childbearing (with Rachel Fung).