Working Paper: NBER ID: w23528
Authors: Jesse Rothstein; Robert G. Valletta
Abstract: Many Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients do not find new jobs before exhausting their benefits, even when benefits are extended during recessions. Using SIPP panel data covering the 2001 and 2007-09 recessions and their aftermaths, we identify individuals whose jobless spells outlasted their UI benefits (exhaustees) and examine household income, program participation, and health-related outcomes during the six months following UI exhaustion. For the average exhaustee, the loss of UI benefits is only slightly offset by increased participation in other safety net programs (e.g., food stamps), and family poverty rates rise substantially. Self-reported disability also rises following UI exhaustion. These patterns do not vary dramatically across the UI extension episodes, household demographic groups, or broad income level prior to job loss. The results highlight the unique, important role of UI in the U.S. social safety net.
Keywords: Unemployment Insurance; Income; Program Participation; Poverty; Health Outcomes
JEL Codes: I38; J65
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| UI exhaustion (L15) | increase in household poverty rates (I32) |
| UI exhaustion (L15) | increase in participation in public assistance programs (H53) |
| UI exhaustion (L15) | increase in self-reported disability rates (J14) |
| UI exhaustion (L15) | decline in household income (D19) |