Full Citation

Title: The Politics of Policy: The Initial Mass Political Effects of Medicaid Expansion in the States

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2016

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Abstract: Whether public policy affects electoral politics by altering the composition of the electorate is an enduring question with an elusive answer. We use variation in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act resulting from the Supreme Courts decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius to compare the political participation of otherwise similar counties in states that differ in terms of their decision to expand Medicaid. Using countylevel vote returns from the 2014 midterm elections, we show that counties in expansion states experience higher voter turnout compared to similar counties in non-expansion states. Moreover, this impact is largest in counties with above average poverty levels. The evidence is broadly consistent with claims that social policy programs can produce political impacts via increased turnout among likely recipients, and the impact is larger than would be expected based on a wealth effect alone.

Url: http://umdrive.memphis.edu/msances/www//papers/aca.pdf

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Authors: Clinton, Joshua D; Sances, Michael W

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Health, Migration and Immigration, Other

Countries: United States