Unemployment Insurance and the Business Cycle: What Adjustments are Needed?

During the 2007-2011 economic downturn, the duration that one could collect unemployment insurance (UI) in the United States increased to an unprecedented 99 weeks, and the UI benefit amount increased by $25. This article explores the policy of increasing the generosity of UI during recessions using...

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Publicado en:Southern Economic Journal Vol. 79; no. 3; pp. 680 - 703
Autor principal: Schwartz, Jeremy
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Jan2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Unemployment Insurance and the Business Cycle: What Adjustments are Needed?
      aug:
        au: Schwartz, Jeremy
        affil: Loyola University Maryland, Department of Economics, 4501 North Charles Street Sellinger 315, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA
      su:
        United States
        Financial crises
        Unemployment
        Labor market
        Economic history
        Recessions
        Unemployment insurance
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        subj:
          Financial crises
          Unemployment
          Labor market
          Economic history
          Recessions
          United States
          Unemployment insurance
      ab: During the 2007-2011 economic downturn, the duration that one could collect unemployment insurance (UI) in the United States increased to an unprecedented 99 weeks, and the UI benefit amount increased by $25. This article explores the policy of increasing the generosity of UI during recessions using a model that accounts for the insurance and moral hazard implications of UI as well as the program's impact on job creation. When limited to adjusting the duration of benefits, a more generous UI system is optimal. However, due to UI's negative impact on job creation and the increased cost of providing benefits when unemployment is high, the optimal extension is just 1.3 months. When the government adjusts both the benefit amount and its duration, the optimal policy during downturns is a reduction in the replacement rate. This mitigates the decline in job creation and funds a UI extension of 4.3 months.
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    language: English
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