Data and Code for: Assessing the Stabilizing Effects of Unemployment Benefit Extensions

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Alexey Gorn, University of Liverpool Management School; Antonella Trigari, Bocconi University, CEPR and IGIER

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
NumbersS4.mat	application/x-matlab-data	733 bytes	08/05/2023 04:52:AM
NumbersS5.mat	application/x-matlab-data	265 bytes	08/05/2023 04:51:AM
NumbersS6.mat	application/x-matlab-data	1.3 KB	08/05/2023 04:51:AM
T1.txt	text/plain	185 bytes	08/05/2023 04:52:AM
T2.txt	text/plain	564 bytes	08/05/2023 04:51:AM
T3.txt	text/plain	240 bytes	08/05/2023 04:51:AM
TB1.txt	text/plain	416 bytes	08/05/2023 04:53:AM
TD1.txt	text/plain	434 bytes	08/07/2023 12:36:AM

Project Description

Summary: We study the stabilizing role of benefit extensions. We develop a tractable quantitative model with heterogeneous agents, search frictions, and nominal rigidities. The model allows for a stabilizing aggregate demand channel and a destabilizing labor market channel. We characterize each channel analytically and find that aggregate demand effects quantitatively prevail in the US. When feeding-in estimated shocks, the model tracks unemployment in the two most recent downturns. We find that extensions lowered unemployment by a maximum of 0.35 pp in the Great Recession, while the joint stabilizing effect of extensions and benefit compensation peaked at 1.08 pp in the pandemic.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: cyclical unemployment insurance; heterogeneous agents; search frictions; nominal rigidities; Great Recession; Covid-19 recession

JEL Classification:
      E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
      E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
      E52 Monetary Policy
      J63 Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
      J64 Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
      J65 Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings

Geographic Coverage: United States

Data Type(s): aggregate data

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2023-12-15]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.