Do Reemployment Bonuses Increase Employment? Evidence from the Idaho Return to Work Bonus Program

Duncan Hobbs () and Michael Strain
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Duncan Hobbs: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

No 16924, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In June 2020, Idaho announced the Return to Work Bonus program, which provided residents who returned to work with bonuses of up to $1,500. Using multiple data sources, we present difference-in-differences, triple differences, and synthetic control estimates suggesting the program may have increased individual employment and accelerated flows into employment from unemployment and from nonparticipation in the labor force. We show the program likely increased state-level employment rates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to study the effects of reemployment bonuses on the U.S. labor market outside an experimental setting.

Keywords: reemployment bonus; unemployment insurance; employment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J08 J64 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58 pages
Date: 2024-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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