Publicly provided healthcare has received growing attention. Debates have been fuelled by evidence on improved health and reduced poverty, and concerns over adverse labour market effects; concerns that are, to date, only supported by mixed empirical findings. This article examines whether publicly provided healthcare influences the decision to migrate. The spatial and temporal variation in the expansion of a non-contributory health insurance programme in Mexico, combined with the panel dimension and the timing of household survey data allows causal identification of the effect of increased coverage on migration. Difference-in-differences estimates reveal that accessing healthcare for free raises internal migration. The effect on international migration, costlier by nature, is statistically insignificant. Potential mechanisms include better health, the alleviation of financial constraints and a greater propensity to work. Results point to the relevance of including household members who have migrated in assessing the impacts of social health policies. They suggest that publicly provided healthcare could have multiplier effects on economic development and welfare by enabling labour force detachment of working-age members in affiliated households.

公共提供的医疗保健越来越受到关注。关于改善健康和减轻贫困的证据以及对不利的劳动力市场影响的担忧加剧了辩论。迄今为止，这些担忧仅得到混合的经验发现的支持。本文研究了公共提供的医疗保健是否影响迁移的决定。墨西哥非缴费型健康保险计划扩展的时空变化，加上面板尺寸和家庭调查数据的时间安排，可以因果性地确定覆盖范围扩大对移民的影响。差异估计表明，免费获得医疗保健会增加内部迁移。从本质上讲，对国际移徙的影响从本质上讲是微不足道的。潜在的机制包括改善健康状况，减轻财务限制和更大的工作倾向。结果表明，纳入移民人口的家庭成员对评估社会卫生政策的影响具有重要意义。他们认为，公共医疗保健可以通过使隶属家庭的劳动年龄人员脱离劳动力，从而对经济发展和福利产生倍增作用。