Unemployment Insurance as a Housing Market Stabilizer

Joanne Hsu, David A. Matsa and Brian Melzer

American Economic Review, 2018, vol. 108, issue 1, 49-81

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of unemployment insurance (UI) on the housing market. Exploiting heterogeneity in UI generosity across US states and over time, we find that UI helps the unemployed avoid mortgage default. We estimate that UI expansions during the Great Recession prevented more than 1.3 million foreclosures and insulated home values from labor market shocks. The results suggest that policies that make mortgages more affordable can reduce foreclosures even when borrowers are severely underwater. An optimal UI policy during housing downturns would weigh, among other benefits and costs, the deadweight losses avoided from preventing mortgage defaults.

JEL-codes: D14 E32 G21 J65 R31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20140989
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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