The Mitigating Effects of Unemployment Insurance on Short-Run Mortality

Andrew Hill, Krishna Regmi () and Isaac Swensen
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Andrew Hill: Montana State University
Krishna Regmi: Florida Gulf Coast University
Isaac Swensen: Montana State University

No 18776, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: Unprecedented increases in unemployment insurance (UI) claims and dramatic changes in UI delivery across the U.S. in recent years stress the importance of understanding the wide-ranging effects of UI receipt. We estimate the short-run effect of UI on suicide and drug overdose mortality following mass layoff events. Using quarterly county-level data from 1995-2010 and leveraging interactions between state-specific UI generosity and mass layoff events, our two-way fixed effects models and event studies show that more generous UI reduces suicide at the county level. These mitigation effects coincide with otherwise large spikes in mortality following mass layoff events in local communities. We find no effect on drug overdose deaths.

Keywords: unemployment insurance; job loss; mortality; suicide; drug abuse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H53 I38 J65 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18776

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