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IZA Discussion Paper No. 7251
February 2013
Social Learning and Health Insurance Enrollment: Evidence from China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme

published in: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2014, 97, 84–102

This paper examines the role of social learning in household enrollment decisions for the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in rural China by estimating a static game with incomplete information. Using a rich dataset from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, we find that the social network effects in the enrollment decision are large and significant. Furthermore, we use temporal and spatial proximity among household heads and obtain the result that the primary mechanism for the social network effects is social learning. Our findings indicate that a 10-percentage-point increase in the enrollment rate in a village increases one's take-up probability by 5 percentage points. We also find that the importance of social learning decreases significantly with the development of alternative information channels. Finally, the evidence suggests that healthier, wealthier, relatively well-educated older male household heads with Han nationality tend to be opinion leaders.

Kommunikation
Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
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Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

Das IZA@LISER-Netzwerk ist eine weltweite Gemeinschaft für exzellente Forschung in der Arbeitsmarktökonomie und angrenzenden Fachgebieten. Nach dem Wechsel von Bonn wird das Netzwerk nun am Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) koordiniert.

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