Robert G. Valletta

Scraping By: Income and Program Participation After the Loss of Extended Unemployment Benefits

December 12, 2017 • Replication Data • By Jesse Rothstein and Robert G. Valletta

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36 (4):880-908. Fall 2017. [accordions] [accordion title="Abstract" load="hide"]Many Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients do not find new jobs before exhausting their benefits, even when benefits are extended during recessions. Using Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) panel data covering the 2001 and 2007 to 2009 recessions and their aftermaths, we identify individuals whose jobless spells outlasted their UI benefits (exhaustees) and examine household income, program participation, and health-related outcomes during the six months following UI exhaustion. For the average exhaustee, the loss of UI benefits is only slightly offset by increased participation in other safety net programs (e.g., food stamps), and family poverty rates rise substantially. Self-reported disability also rises following UI exhaustion. These patterns do not vary dramatically across household demographic groups, broad income level prior to job loss, or the two business cycles. The results highlight the unique, important role of UI in the U.S. social safety net. [/accordion] [/accordions]

The Effect of Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Evidence from the 2012-2013 Phase-Out

May 1, 2015 • Replication Data • By Henry S. Farber, Jesse Rothstein and Robert G. Valletta

American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 105(5):171-176. May 2015. [accordions] [accordion title="Abstract" load="hide"]Unemployment Insurance benefit durations were extended during the Great Recession, reaching 99 weeks for most recipients. The extensions were rolled back and eventually terminated by the end of 2013. Using matched CPS data from 2008-2014, we estimate the effect of extended benefits on unemployment exits separately during the earlier period of benefit expansion and the later period of rollback. In both periods, we find little or no effect on job-finding but a reduction in labor force exits due to benefit availability. We estimate that the rollbacks reduced the labor force participation rate by about 0.1 percentage point in early 2014. [/accordion] [/accordions]

The Effect of Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Evidence from the 2012-2013 Phase-Out

January 1, 2015 • Working Papers • By Henry S. Farber, Jesse Rothstein and Robert G. Valletta

Abstract Unemployment Insurance benefit durations were extended during the Great Recession, reaching 99 weeks for most recipients. The extensions were rolled back and eventually terminated by the end of 2013.

Scraping By: Income and Program Participation After the Loss of Extended Unemployment Benefits

February 1, 2014 • Working Papers • By Jesse Rothstein and Robert G. Valletta

Abstract Many Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients do not find new jobs before exhausting their benefits, even when benefits are extended during recessions. Using SIPP panel data covering the 2001 and…