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How Does the Unemployment Insurance System Shape the Time Profile of Jobless Duration?

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  • Pedro Portugal
  • John T. Addison

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of unemployment insurance on escape rates from unemployment using data from the 1998 Displaced Worker Survey. Transitions from unemployment to employment are modeled using a flexible representation of the baseline hazard function and allowing for discrete changes through time in the effects of unemployment insurance benefits, as well as those of the other covariates. The impact of unemployment insurance is also modeled using a time-varying benefits measure, namely, time to exhaustion of benefits. Potential biases stemming from reverse causation and unobserved individual heterogeneity are accommodated. Both approaches render transparent the major disincentive effects of access to benefits on re-employment rates while also providing evidence of time-varying effects of other regressors.

Suggested Citation

  • Pedro Portugal & John T. Addison, 2004. "How Does the Unemployment Insurance System Shape the Time Profile of Jobless Duration?," Working Papers w200401, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ptu:wpaper:w200401
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bennmarker, Helge & Skans, Oskar Nordström & Vikman, Ulrika, 2013. "Workfare for the old and long-term unemployed," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 25-34.
    2. Lars Pico Geerdsen & Stéphanie Vincent Lyk-Jensen & Cecilie Dohlmann Weatherall, 2018. "Accelerating the transition to employment at benefit exhaustion: still possible after four years of unemployment?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 1107-1135, May.
    3. S. Nuray Akin & Brennan Platt, 2012. "Running Out of Time: Limited Unemployment Benefits and Reservation Wages," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(2), pages 149-170, April.
    4. Rafael Lalive & Jan Ours & Josef Zweimüller, 2011. "Equilibrium unemployment and the duration of unemployment benefits," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1385-1409, October.
    5. Werner Eichhorst & Tito Boeri & Michela Braga & An de Coen & Galasso Vicenzo & Maarten Gerard & Michael J. Kendzia & Christine Mayrhuber & Jakob Louis Pedersen & Ricarda Schmidl & Nadia Steiber, 2013. "Combining the Entry of Young People in the Labour Market with the Retention of Older Workers," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46988.
    6. Rafael Lalive & Jan Van Ours & Josef Zweimuller, 2006. "How Changes in Financial Incentives Affect the Duration of Unemployment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(4), pages 1009-1038.
    7. Gunderson, Jill Marie & Hotchkiss, Julie L., 2007. "Job Separation Behavior of WOTC Workers: Results from a Unique Case Study," MPRA Paper 44801, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Patrick Kline & Enrico Moretti, 2014. "People, Places, and Public Policy: Some Simple Welfare Economics of Local Economic Development Programs," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 629-662, August.
    9. Emmanuel Duguet & Florent Frémigacci & Yannick L’Horty, 2008. "Indemnisation du chômage et retour à l’emploi : un examen économétrique," Documents de recherche 08-07, Centre d'Études des Politiques Économiques (EPEE), Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne.
    10. Ott Toomet, 2005. "Does an increase in unemployment income lead to longer unemployment spells? Evidence using Danish unemployment assistance data," Economics Working Papers 2005-07, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    11. Marta C. Lopes, 2016. "Using the variation in potential duration of unemployment benefits to estimate the causal effect of unemployment duration on re-employment wages," Nova SBE Working Paper Series wp608, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics.
    12. Pedro Portugal & John Addison, 2004. "The European Labour Markets - Disincentive Effects of Unemployment Benefits on the Paths Out of Unemployment," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 5(1), pages 24-30, October.
    13. Lalive, R. & van Ours, J.C. & Zweimüller, J., 2006. "How Changes in Potential Benefit Duration Affect Equilibrium Unemployment," Other publications TiSEM 9c1e2e2f-85cf-48b2-b608-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Lionel Cottier & Kathrin Degen & Rafael Lalive, 2020. "Can unemployment benefit cuts improve employment and earnings?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 659-699, August.
    15. Jan C. van Ours & Milan Vodopivec, 2006. "How Shortening the Potential Duration of Unemployment Benefits Affects the Duration of Unemployment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(2), pages 351-378, April.
    16. Valerija Botric & Iva Tomic, 2016. "Self-employment of the young and the old: exploring effects of the crisis in Croatia," Working Papers 1603, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.
    17. Ott-Siim Toomet, 2005. "Does an Increase in Unemployment Income Lead to Longer Unemployment Spells? Evidence Using Danish Unemployment Assistance Data," Bank of Estonia Working Papers 2005-09, Bank of Estonia, revised 10 Oct 2005.
    18. Pedro Portugal & John Addison, 2004. "The European Labour Markets - Disincentive Effects of Unemployment Benefits on the Paths Out of Unemployment," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 5(01), pages 24-30, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings

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