主题｜Topic：Unawareness of Unhealthiness, Information Provision, and Health Insurance Participation among the Elderly
时间｜Time：4月12号（周五）｜April 12th (Friday), 12：00 -1：30PM
地点｜Venue：文澴730会议室｜Meeting Room 730，WENHUAN
主讲｜Speaker
黄炜博士现为新加坡国立大学董事长特聘助理教授（President’s Assistant Professor），他于北京大学获得经济学本科及硕士学位，于哈佛大学获得经济学博士学位。主要研究公共经济学，劳动经济学，健康经济学等领域。已在 Journal of Economic Perspectives，Review of Economics and Statistics，Journal of Labor Economics，Economic Inquiry，Social Science & Medicine，Nature 等国际期刊发表文章。现为 Economics of Transition 编辑，The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) 研究员。
研究领域｜Research Interests
公共经济学，劳动经济学，健康经济学
Public Economics, Labor Economics, Health Economics
摘要｜Abstract
People may be unaware of their unhealthiness and thus make suboptimal decisions in insurance participation. Using national representative samples of the elderly in US and China, we find that the unawareness of unhealthiness is significantly associated with lower socio-economic status, poorer health, and less insurance participation. We further find that accurate health information provided through physical examinations induces relatively higher participation afterwards suggesting information as an important mechanism. These findings contribute a new explanation for the insufficient participation among poor people and advantageous selection in health insurance.
