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	Genetics and Health Insurance: How Genes and Insurance Status Affect Smoking Decisions after Health Shocks

Martedì

01.12

Zoom

12:15


https://zoom.us/j/96973372448 Meeting ID: 969 7337 2448 Password: 708736	Pietro Biroli Assistant professor of Economics at the University of Zurich and affiliated to the UBS Center for Economics in Society

The determinants of healthy behaviors are complex and multifaceted,
and include both biological factors, such as genetic predispositions, as
well as environmental factors, such as financial liquidity and health
insurance status. We show how the choice of smoking after a serious
health shock is jointly determined by the interaction between these
biological and environmental components. We find that genetic
predispositions can offset the financial incentives for smoking
cessation. These results suggest that genetic heterogeneity is a factor
that should be considered when evaluating the importance of health
insurance policies.
The paper is joint work with Laura Zwyssig.