Wage risk and employment risk over the life cycle

Hamish Low, Costas Meghir and Luigi Pistaferri

No W06/27, IFS Working Papers from Institute for Fiscal Studies

Abstract:

This paper decomposes the sources of risk to income that individuals face over their lifetimes. We distinguish productivity risk from employment risk and identify the components of each using the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Estimates of productivity risk contolling for employment risk and for individual labour supply choices are substantially lower than estimates that attribute all wage variation to productivity risk. We use a partial equilibrium life-cycle model of consumption and labour supply to analyse the choices individuals make in the light of these risks and to measure the welfare cost of the different types of risk. Productivity risk induces a considerably greater welfare loss than employment risk primarily because productivity shocks are more persistent. Reflecting this, the welfare value of government programs such as food stamps which partially insure productivity risk is greater than the value of unemployment insurance which provides (partial) insurance against employment risk and no insurance against persistent shocks.

Keywords: Uncertainty; life-cycle models; unemployment; precautionary savings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 H31 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pp.
Date: 2006-12-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ias and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Wage Risk and Employment Risk over the Life Cycle (2010)
Working Paper: Wage Risk and Employment Risk over the Life Cycle (2009)
Working Paper: Wage risk and employment risk over the life cycle (2008)
Working Paper: Wage Risk and Employment Risk over the Life Cycle (2008)
Working Paper: Wage Risk and Employment Risk Over the Life Cycle (2007)
Working Paper: Wage risk and employment risk over the life-cycle (2004)
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