The Effect of Geographic Access to Jobs on Job Sorting and Access to Health Insurance

Richard Hirth, Reagan Baughman, and Michael Chernew, University of Michigan

We will investigate the scope and effect of geographic barriers on the ability of low-skilled workers to find jobs that offer a range of options with respect to wages and employer-sponsored health insurance. We intend to explore whether there are certain conditions under which workers face barriers to access to optimal job sorting. We hypothesize that low-skilled workers living in metropolitan areas with fairly good geographic access to jobs outside of the central city are more likely to sort into jobs that match their preferences for health insurance coverage. Additionally, where geographic barriers exist, they are apt to be most pronounced among minority inner city workers. Results of this work can inform policy decisions by broadening the options available to policy-makers seeking to promote a better match between workers, the jobs they seek, and the benefit/wage tradeoffs available.