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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Job Search Intensity Supply Curve: How Labor Market Conditions Affect Job Search Effort, Jeremy Schwartz Aug 2014

The Job Search Intensity Supply Curve: How Labor Market Conditions Affect Job Search Effort, Jeremy Schwartz

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

During the Great Recession of 2007, unemployment reached nearly 10 percent and the ratio of unemployment to open positions (as measured by the Help Wanted OnLine Index) more than tripled. The weak labor market prompted an unprecedented extension in the length of time in which a claimant can collect unemployment insurance (UI) to 99 weeks, at an expense to date of $226.4 billion. While many claim that extending UI during a recession will reduce search intensity, the effect of weak labor market conditions on search remains a mystery. As a result, policymakers are in the dark as to whether UI …


Public Workforce Programs During The Great Recession, Stephen A. Wandner, Randall W. Eberts Jul 2014

Public Workforce Programs During The Great Recession, Stephen A. Wandner, Randall W. Eberts

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.


Hiring As A Herd: Optimal Unemployment Insurance With Asymmetric Information, Brandon Lehr Jun 2014

Hiring As A Herd: Optimal Unemployment Insurance With Asymmetric Information, Brandon Lehr

Brandon Lehr

This paper characterizes optimal unemployment insurance (UI) in terms of estimable statistics in the presence of negative duration dependence for the unemployed, with endogenous callback rates generated by asymmetric information. I show how this characterization generalizes the standard Baily-Chetty framework. In addition, I construct an approximation for optimal UI as a function of the average elasticity of callback rates with respect to unemployment benefits. There is no estimate of this elasticity in the literature, but I illustrate the responsiveness of optimal UI to this elasticity.


Use Of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program Benefits By Unemployment Insurance Applicants In Michigan During The Great Recession, Christopher J. O'Leary, Kenneth J. Kline Mar 2014

Use Of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program Benefits By Unemployment Insurance Applicants In Michigan During The Great Recession, Christopher J. O'Leary, Kenneth J. Kline

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

During the Great Recession, both the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) program experienced dramatic increases in participation. Using Michigan program administrative data on all SNAP (2006–2011) recipients and all UI (2001–2010) applicants, we examine SNAP use before and after UI application. Both past and future receipts of SNAP are highly negatively correlated with meeting UI income and job separation eligibility requirements. Unemployment insurance applicants with insufficient wage credits or job separations because of quitting or employer discharge are much more likely to have received SNAP in the past. Furthermore, such UI applicants are also …


Financing Unemployment Insurance, Wayne Vroman, Stephen A. Woodbury Mar 2014

Financing Unemployment Insurance, Wayne Vroman, Stephen A. Woodbury

Journal Articles

Following the Great Recession, most states’ unemployment insurance (UI) trust funds became insolvent, requiring the states to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to finance benefit payments. This article describes the basics of UI financing and reviews the origins of the financial crisis facing the federal-state UI system. It then examines the main components of the UI payroll tax—the taxable wage base and the experience-rated payroll tax—and considers how these might be modified to avoid future widespread insolvency. We conclude with some speculative remarks on the future of UI financing.


Financing Unemployment Insurance, Wayne Vroman, Stephen A. Woodbury Feb 2014

Financing Unemployment Insurance, Wayne Vroman, Stephen A. Woodbury

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Following the Great Recession, most states’ unemployment insurance (UI) trust funds became insolvent, requiring the states to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to finance benefit payments. This article describes the basics of UI financing and reviews the origins of the financial crisis facing the federal-state UI system. It then examines the main components of the UI payroll tax—the taxable wage base and the experience-rated payroll tax—and considers how these might be modified to avoid future widespread insolvency. We conclude with some speculative remarks on the future of UI financing.