Quantifying the Benefits of Social Insurance: Unemployment Insurance and Health

Abstract

<jats:p> While the unemployment insurance (UI) program is one of the largest safety net programs in the United States, research on its benefits is limited. This paper exploits plausibly exogenous changes in state UI laws to empirically estimate whether UI generosity mitigates any of the previously documented negative health effects of job loss. The results show that higher UI generosity increases health insurance coverage and utilization, with stronger effects during periods of high unemployment rates. During such periods, higher UI generosity also leads to improved self-reported health. Finally, I find no effects on risky behaviors or health conditions. </jats:p>

Economic influences on population health in the United States: Toward policymaking driven by data and evidence

“…Policies and programs that assist workers displaced by automation and trade to acquire new skills may also play an important role. More generous unemployment insurance benefits have been found to mitigate the impact of economic downturns on suicide mortality [108] and overall self-reported health [109]. A recent study of the US Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, which aims to retrain workers who lose their jobs in industries affected by foreign trade, demonstrates large positive effects on employment and income [110].…”

Who helps the unemployed? Workers’ receipt of public and private transfers

“…UI research is often framed within the trade-off between liquidity and moral hazard for searching workers (Chetty, 2008). The former includes studies of benefit generosity and the effects of UI on consumption smoothing (Gruber, 1997), household finance and mortgage default (Hsu et al, 2018), health spending (Kuka, 2016), and spousal labor supply (Cullen and Gruber, 2000). The latter includes studies of incentives on search and the macroeconomic consequences of higher or lower benefits, whether there are positive spillovers (Acemoglu and Shimer, 2000), lengthened spells with regular durations (Moffitt, 1985;Meyer, 1990;Katz and Meyer, 1990) or extended durations (Farber and Valletta, 2015;Farber et al, 2015;Kroft et al, 2016), search distortions (Krueger and Mueller, 2010), or cyclicality concerns (Kroft and Notowidigdo, 2016).…”

Who Helps the Unemployed? Workers' Receipt of Private and Public Transfers

“…UI research is often framed within the trade off between liquidity and moral hazard for searching workers (Chetty, 2008). The former includes studies of benefit generosity and the effects of UI on consumption smoothing (Gruber, 1997), household finance and mortgage default (Hsu et al, 2014), health spending (Kuka, 2016), and spousal labor supply (Cullen and Gruber, 2000). The latter includes studies of incentives on search and the macroeconomic consequences of higher or lower benefits, whether there are positive spillovers (Acemoglu and Shimer, 2000), lengthened spells with regular durations (Moffitt, 1985;Meyer, 1990;Katz and Meyer, 1990) or extended durations , search distortions (Krueger and Mueller, 2010), or cyclicality concerns .…”