Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health
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Family formation and the demand for private health insurance

Approved: 2015

Collaborators:

  • Dr Nathan Kettlewell
  • Prof Denise Doiron

Synopsis

Our study will investigate the role of family formation, in particular the effect of children – actual and desired- on the purchase of private hospital insurance. We expect the incentives to purchase insurance to vary depending on the stage of family formation. In particular, health care services related to pregnancy mean that the incentive effects are likely to be higher for those expecting to have more children in the future. By using a longitudinal panel of younger women, we can account for state dependency and unobserved heterogeneity in the decision to insure.