How Income Changes During Unemployment: Evidence from Tax Return Data

Laura Kawano and Sara LaLumia

Journal of Human Resources, 2017, vol. 52, issue 2, 418-456

Abstract: We use a panel of tax returns spanning 1999 to 2011 to provide evidence on household experiences during unemployment. A period of unemployment is associated with a 20 percent reduction in annual household wage earnings. Unemployment insurance (U.I.) compensates for half of lost wages. Households also partially compensate using a variety of income sources. Distributions from retirement accounts increase in the short run. Self-employment income and disability insurance payments increase over longer periods. More generous U.I. benefits crowd out wage income and are associated with increased retirement account distributions. This combination of responses is consistent with U.I. benefits lengthening unemployment spells.

Date: 2017
Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.52.2.0414-6319R2
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
http://jhr.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/52/2/418
A subscription is required to access pdf files. Pay per article is available.

Related works:
Working Paper: How Income Changes During Unemployment: Evidence from Tax Return Data (2015)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:52:y:2017:i:2:p:418-456

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Human Resources from University of Wisconsin Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().