Optimal unemployment insurance and international risk sharing

Stéphane Moyen, Nikolai Stähler and Fabian Winkler

European Economic Review, 2019, vol. 115, issue C, 144-171

Abstract: If a group of countries were to introduce a common unemployment insurance system, what should it look like? Using a two-country business cycle model with incomplete financial markets and frictional labor markets, we show that the optimal replacement rate becomes more countercyclical relative to a closed economy, due to the planner’s desire for international risk sharing. Moreover, it is feasible to channel cross-country transfers through the unemployment insurance system without affecting unemployment levels. When we calibrate our model to Eurozone data, optimal transfers are sizable and stabilize consumption mainly in the periphery countries, while optimal replacement rates are countercyclical overall.

Keywords: Unemployment insurance; International business cycles; Fiscal union; Optimal policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 E62 H21 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Optimal Unemployment Insurance and International Risk Sharing (2016)
Working Paper: Optimal unemployment insurance and international risk sharing (2016)
Working Paper: Optimal Unemployment Insurance and International Risk Sharing (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:115:y:2019:i:c:p:144-171

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2019.03.004

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