Data on Economics Discussed by Researchers at University of California San Diego (UCSD) (When Is Tinkering With Safety Net Programs Harmful To Beneficiaries?): Economics

2021 OCT 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Economics. According to news reporting out of La Jolla, California, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Interactions between redistributive policies can confront low-income households with complicated choices. We study one such interaction, namely the relationship between Medicaid eligibility thresholds and the minimum wage.”

Financial support for this research came from UCSD Academic Senate.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), “A minimum wage increase reduces the number of hours a low-skilled individual can work while retaining Medicaid eligibility. We show that the empirical and welfare implications of this interaction can depend crucially on the relevance of labor market frictions. Absent frictions, affected workers may maintain Medicaid eligibility through small reductions in hours of work. With frictions, affected workers may lose Medicaid eligibility unless they leave their initial job. Empirically, we find that workers facing this scenario became less likely to participate in Medicaid, less likely to work, and more likely to spend time looking for new jobs, including search while employed. The observed outcomes suggest that low-skilled workers face substantial labor market frictions.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Because adjustment is costly, tinkering with safety net program parameters that determine the location of program eligibility notches can be harmful to beneficiaries.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: When Is Tinkering With Safety Net Programs Harmful To Beneficiaries? Southern Economic Journal, 2021. Southern Economic Journal can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Jeffrey Clemens, University of California San Diego (UCSD), Dept. of Economics, 9500 Gilman Dr 0508, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12530. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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