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The Affordable Care Act and the Growth of Involuntary Part-Time Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Even, William E.

    (Miami University)

  • Macpherson, David A.

    (Trinity University)

Abstract

This study tests whether the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased involuntary part-time (IPT) employment. Using data from the Current Population Survey between 1994 and 2014, we find that IPT employment in 2014 was higher than predicted based on economic conditions and the composition of jobs and workers in the labor market. More importantly, using difference-in-difference methods, we find that the increase in the probability of IPT employment since 2010 was greatest in the industries and occupations where workers were most likely to be affected by the mandate. We also show that there has been virtually no change in the probability of IPT employment where the number of workers affected by the mandate was small. We estimate that approximately 1 million additional workers between the ages of 19 and 64 are in IPT employment as a result of the ACA employer mandate.

Suggested Citation

  • Even, William E. & Macpherson, David A., 2015. "The Affordable Care Act and the Growth of Involuntary Part-Time Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 9324, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9324
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2018. "The welfare effects of involuntary part-time work," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 183-205.
    2. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2016. "The Rise of Part-time Employment," Sciences Po publications 2016-04, Sciences Po.
    3. Didem Tuzemen & Makoto Nakajima, 2014. "Health Care Reform or Labor Market Reform? A Quantitative Analysis of the Affordable Care Act," 2014 Meeting Papers 1325, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Aslim, Erkmen Giray, 2022. "Public health insurance and employment transitions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Joel A. Elvery & C. Lockwood Reynolds & Shawn M. Rohlin, 2023. "Employer Wage Subsidy Caps and Part-Time Work," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(1), pages 189-209, January.
    7. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2019. "Employment Adjustment and Part-Time Work: Lessons from the United States and the United Kingdom," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 389-435, January.
    8. Marcus Dillender & Carolyn J. Heinrich & Susan Houseman, 2022. "Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Part-Time Employment: Early Evidence," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(4), pages 1394-1423.
    9. Robert G. Valletta & Leila Bengali & Catherine van der List, 2020. "Cyclical and Market Determinants of Involuntary Part-Time Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 67-93.
    10. Kang, Hyunju & Park, Jaevin & Suh, Hyunduk, 2020. "The rise of part-time employment in the great recession: Its causes and macroeconomic effects," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Mulligan, Casey, 2018. "The Employer Penalty, Voluntary Compliance, and the Size Distribution of Firms: Evidence from a Survey of Small Businesses," Working Papers 07020, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    12. Theresa Markefke & Rebekka Rehm, 2020. "Macroeconomic Determinants of Involuntary Part-Time Employment in Germany," Working Paper Series in Economics 103, University of Cologne, Department of Economics.
    13. Laura Connolly & Matt Hampton & Otto Lenhart, 2024. "Labor mobility and the Affordable Care Act: Heterogeneous impacts of the preexisting conditions provision," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 157-191, January.
    14. Mark Duggan & Gopi Shah Goda & Emilie Jackson, 2019. "The Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Insurance Coverage and Labor Market Outcomes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 72(2), pages 261-322, June.
    15. Casey B. Mulligan, 2019. "The Employer Penalty, Voluntary Compliance, and the Size Distribution of Firms: Evidence from a Survey of Small Businesses," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 34, pages 139-171, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    17. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Dillender, Marcus O. & Heinrich, Carolyn J. & Houseman, Susan N., 2016. "Health insurance reform and part-time work: Evidence from Massachusetts," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 151-158.
    19. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Lennon, Conor, 2021. "Are the costs of employer-sponsored health insurance passed on to workers at the individual level?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    21. Kavan Kucko & Kevin Rinz & Benjamin Solow, 2017. "Labor Market Effects of the Affordable Care Act: Evidence from a Tax Notch," CARRA Working Papers 2017-07, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employer mandate; involuntary part-time employment; Affordable Care Act; health insurance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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