Data and Code for: Equity in Unemployment Insurance Benefit Access

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Christopher J O'Leary, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research; William E. Spriggs, Howard University; Stephen A. Wandner, National Academy of Social Insurance

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
analysis_data			02/21/2022 12:01:PM
output			02/21/2022 12:01:PM
raw_data			02/21/2022 12:15:PM
Figures 1 & 2.xlsx	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet	30.8 KB	02/21/2022 07:01:AM
README.pdf	application/pdf	77.8 KB	02/21/2022 07:01:AM
edo.ado	text/plain	170 bytes	02/21/2022 07:01:AM
master.do	text/plain	1.7 KB	02/21/2022 07:01:AM
uiequity1.do	text/plain	54.6 KB	02/21/2022 07:01:AM
uiequity2.do	text/plain	10.9 KB	02/21/2022 07:01:AM
uiequity3.do	text/plain	23.8 KB	02/21/2022 07:01:AM

Project Citation:

O’Leary, Christopher J, Spriggs, William E., and Wandner, Stephen A. Data and Code for: Equity in Unemployment Insurance Benefit Access. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2022. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-04-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E163041V1

Project Description

Summary: This paper examines the uneven pattern of access to unemployment insurance (UI) by age, gender, and race across the United States. We present results from a descriptive analysis using publicly available longitudinal data reported by states on rates of UI recipiency and characteristics of UI beneficiaries. Recipiency measures the proportion of all unemployed who are receiving UI benefits. UI is intended to provide temporary, partial income replacement to involuntarily unemployed UI applicants with strong labor force attachments while they are able, available, and actively seeking return to work. Each of these UI eligibility conditions contributes to the UI recipiency rate being less than 100 percent, and the individual decision to apply for benefits also affects the recipiency rate. We examine each of these factors and find suggestive evidence of reasons for differences in recipiency by age, gender, and race. We discuss practical program reforms to improve equity in access to UI that could be adopted by all states and required by the federal government.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: unemployment insurance; recipiency; demographics; characteristics of ui recipients; gender; race; barriers to access; pooled cross-section time-series

JEL Classification:
      J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
      J65 Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
      J68 Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies: Public Policy

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V1 [2022-04-12]

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