Alarcon Espinoza, Giovann2021-10-132021-10-132021-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/225039University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. 2021. Major: Applied Economics. Advisors: Paul Glewwe, Bryan Dowd. 1 computer file (PDF); xii, 214 pages.In this dissertation, I study the effects of Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS), a publicly-operated health insurance program in Peru that provides healthcare coverage to poor and vulnerable individuals and complements the subsidies already existing through the nationwide network of public healthcare providers. First, I estimate SIS' effect on healthcare utilization. I find that SIS has had a positive impact on healthcare utilization, especially preventive care, while some implementation problems are likely to be the cause of an estimated negative effect on obtaining corrective lenses. I also find that SIS effect is smaller among poor enrollees, likely because the program is unable to help its enrollees to overcome other barriers to access healthcare (e.g., geographical barriers). In addition, I find some negative effects on people’s out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures, especially for some types of preventive care. SIS’ debt to providers is likely the reason why it had a positive effect on “other services.” Lastly, I find no evidence of an effect of SIS coverage on catastrophic healthcare expenditure and children’s health.enThesis or Dissertation