Racial Inequality in Unemployment Insurance Receipt and Take-Up

Elira Kuka and Bryan Stuart

No 29595, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper studies differences in receipt and take-up of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits among white and Black individuals. We combine state-level UI regulations with data containing detailed information on individuals’ work history and UI receipt. Black individuals who separate from a job are 24% less likely to receive UI than whites. The UI receipt gap stems primarily from lower take-up of UI benefits among likely eligible individuals, as opposed to differences in benefit eligibility. Statistical decompositions indicate that about one-half of the take-up gap is explained by Black workers’ lower pre-unemployment earnings and higher tendency to live in the South.

JEL-codes: H5 I38 J15 J65 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ias, nep-lab and nep-pbe
Note: LS PE
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Working Paper: Racial Inequality in Unemployment Insurance Receipt and Take-Up (2022)
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