Aggregate Employment Effects of Unemployment Benefits During Deep Downturns: Evidence from the Expiration of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

Abstract This paper analyzes empirically the distribution of unemployment durations in West Germany during the 1980s and 1990s. It therefore covers periods before and after the changes during the mid-1980s in the maximum entitlement periods for unemployment benefits for older unemployed. The analysis is based on the IAB employment subsample containing administrative data for about 500,000 individuals. Since these data only partly reveal the unemployment duration in an economic sense, we use a narrow and a wide proxy for unemployment. Our empirical analysis finds significant changes in the distribution of non-employment durations for older unemployed. At the same time, the distribution of unemployment durations between jobs remained unchanged after the reforms. Our findings clearly show that many firms and workers used the more beneficial laws as a part of early retirement packages. Surprisingly, for those workers who found and accepted a new job, we do not observe a prolongation of their search periods to a sizeable extent.

Download Full-text

Unemployment Compensation. Employee, Ineligible under Collective Bargaining Agreement for Vacation with Pay, Held Voluntarily Unemployed and Ineligible for Unemployment Benefits during Vacation Shutdown

Virginia Law Review ◽

10.2307/1070352 ◽

1955 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 672

Keyword(s):

Collective Bargaining ◽

Collective Bargaining Agreement ◽

Unemployment Benefits ◽

Unemployment Compensation

Download Full-text

Macroeconomic effects of unemployment benefits in small open economies: a stock–flow consistent approach

European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies Intervention ◽

10.4337/ejeep.2018.0032 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 335-363

Author(s):

Byrialsen Mikael Randrup ◽

Hamid Raza

Keyword(s):

Open Economy ◽

Aggregate Demand ◽

Small Open Economy ◽

Unemployment Benefits ◽

Trade Off ◽

Unemployment Compensation ◽

Key Variables ◽

Macroeconomic Effects ◽

Stock Flow ◽

Compensation Rate

This paper attempts to analyse the macroeconomic effects of unemployment benefits in a small open economy. We adopt a stock–flow consistent (SFC) approach with an emphasis on the dynamics of the labour market. We numerically solve the model using a combination of estimation and calibration to generate statistics for our key variables, reflecting features of the Danish economy. We then analyse the effects of a fall in the unemployment compensation rate on the economy. The results indicate that a fall in the compensation rate at a macro level leads to a trade-off between a fall in aggregate demand and a rise in net exports. Due to this trade-off, the net effect of a fall in the compensation rate on the aggregate unemployment rate tends to be weak. Our analyses in this paper raise several questions on the existing views regarding unemployment benefits adopted by a large strand of the economic literature.

Download Full-text

The Potential Role of Unemployment Benefits in Shaping the Mental Health Impact of Unemployment

International Journal of Health Services ◽

10.2190/xgcu-qwde-gww1-p7k7 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 601-623 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Eunice Rodriguez ◽

Kathryn Lasch ◽

June P. Mead

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Household Income ◽

Policy Development ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Full Time ◽

Unemployment Benefits ◽

Welfare Benefits ◽

Unemployment Compensation ◽

Total Household Income ◽

The Impact

This study looks at the association between formal systems of support (unemployment compensation or welfare) and mental health outcomes during periods of unemployment. It assesses whether unemployed persons not receiving unemployment benefits are at greater risk of reporting depression and suffering ill-health than those receiving some kind of unemployment compensation, independent of total household income. The authors performed a secondary analysis of data collected in the National Survey of Families and Households, 1987–1988. Outcome measures included an index of depression and perception of health status. Multiple regression analyses were used. The unemployed receiving unemployment compensation or benefits from other entitlement programs did not report significantly higher depression relative to the employed. Rather, the study found a significantly higher index of depression among unemployed persons receiving welfare benefits or no benefits, even after controlling for total household income and previous employment/unemployment history. Thus unemployment compensation may play an important role in ameliorating the impact of unemployment on depression. By contrast, means-tested benefits may not be sufficient to reduce the risk for reporting depression and suffering ill-health in comparison with the full-time employed. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of social policy development.

Download Full-text

Locked-Out Workers Denied Unemployment Benefits: Unemployment Compensation. Trade Dispute Disqualification. When Has an Employee Left Work Voluntarily Because of a Trade Dispute?

Stanford Law Review ◽

10.2307/1226149 ◽

1950 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 427

Keyword(s):

Unemployment Benefits ◽

Trade Dispute ◽

Unemployment Compensation

Download Full-text

EFFECTS OF EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS ON LABOR DYNAMICS

Macroeconomic Dynamics ◽

10.1017/s1365100514000789 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 1174-1195 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miquel Faig ◽

Min Zhang ◽

Shiny Zhang

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Unemployment Insurance ◽

The United States ◽

Unemployment Benefits ◽

Productivity Shocks ◽

Insurance Benefits ◽

Unemployment Compensation ◽

Percentage Points ◽

Labor Dynamics ◽

Compensation Program

We calculate that the extension of unemployment insurance benefits during downturns has significantly increased the variability of unemployment and vacancies in the United States. Taking this into account reduces the value of leisure necessary to match the wide labor market business cycles experienced in the United States using the Mortensen--Pissarides model. For this calculation, we analyze a version of the model where unemployment insurance benefits not only expire but must be earned with prior employment. With these features, we can calibrate the model to be consistent with unemployment responding strongly to productivity shocks and mildly to changes in unemployment insurance policies. Our preferred calibration predicts that the standard deviation of unemployment since 1945 would have fallen by around 37% if there had not been programs extending unemployment benefits during recessions. We also find that the enactment of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program in 2008 increased the unemployment rate by 0.5 percentage points.

Download Full-text

Is technological change a devourer of jobs?

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2017-11-111-140 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 111-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

R. Kapeliushnikov

Keyword(s):

Technological Change ◽

Critical Analysis ◽

New Technologies ◽

Employment Growth ◽

Foreseeable Future ◽

Employment Effects ◽

Technological Unemployment ◽

Micro Level ◽

Task Sets ◽

The Impact

The paper provides a critical analysis of the idea of technological unemployment. The overview of the existing literature on the employment effects of technological change shows that on the micro-level there exists strong and positive relationship between innovations and employment growth in firms; on the sectoral level this correlation becomes ambiguous; on the macro-level the impact of new technologies seems to be positive or neutral. This implies that fears of explosive growth of technological unemployment in the foreseeable future are exaggerated. Our analysis further suggests that new technologies affect mostly the structure of employment rather than its level. Additionally we argue that automation and digitalisation would change mostly task sets within particular occupations rather than distribution of workers by occupations.

Download Full-text

Editorial: Migration costs

MIGRATION LETTERS ◽

10.33182/ml.v6i1.81 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 1-2 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Martha W. Rees

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Public Services ◽

Mexican Immigrants ◽

Food Stamps ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Unemployment Compensation ◽

The Us ◽

Mexican Immigrant Men ◽

Migration Costs ◽

Immigrant Men

Much has been written about the costs—and benefits--of migration--in terms of the costs to the US (or receiving regions) and of the benefits to migrants. Massey (2005) concludes that because (Mexican) immigrants pay taxes, they are not a drain on public services. In fact, migrants are less likely to use public services, and pay taxes for services they don’t use. Almost two-thirds have Social Security taxes withheld, only 10% have sent a child to public schools, and under 5% or have used food stamps, welfare, or unemployment compensation. They also pay sales taxes. In terms of criminality, Rumbaut and Ewing (2007) refute the myth that migrants bring crime. They find that Mexican immigrant men have a lower rate of incarceration (0.7%) than US born Latinos (5.9%) or for US born males (3.5%).

Download Full-text