Health insuranceSelection, incentives and search

In today’s ageing society, increasing health care costs are a major concern. Public health insurance systems are under pressure, as the costs per insuree increase and the working population that pays for the larger part of the costs of public health insurance diminishes. As the ageing of the society and the ratio of inactives per active have not yet reached their peak, the pressure on public health insurance systems will only get stronger. While some countries, like the Netherlands and Switzerland, have already implemented major reforms in their health insurance system, other countries like the US are seriously considering such reforms.

This thesis contains four studies on health insurance, all from a microeconometric point of view.