Quantifying the Benefits of Social Insurance: Unemployment Insurance and Health

Elira Kuka

No 1808, Departmental Working Papers from Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics

Abstract: While the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program is one of the largest safety net programs in the U.S., research on its benefits is limited. This paper exploits plausibly exogenous changes in state UI laws to empirically estimate whether UI generosity mitigates any of the previously documented negative health effects of job loss. The results show higher UI generosity increases health insurance coverage and utilization, with stronger effects during periods of high unemployment rates. During such periods, higher UI generosity also leads to improved self-reported health. Finally, I find no effects on risky behaviors nor on health conditions.

Keywords: Unemployment Insurance; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-ias and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Quantifying the Benefits of Social Insurance: Unemployment Insurance and Health (2018)
Working Paper: Quantifying the Benefits of Social Insurance: Unemployment Insurance and Health (2018)
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