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Norwegian

Unemployment Insurance in Welfare States: The Impacts of Soft Duration Constraints

Link to article:

[PDF]

Authors:

Røed, Knut og Lars Westlie

Year:

2012

Reference:

Journal of the European Economic Association

Vol. 10 (3), 518-554

Summary

Based on a major reform of Norwegian unemployment insurance (UI), we examine the behavioral impacts of soft and hard UI duration constraints. A constraint is interpreted as hard if a claimant cannot rely on any form of income support after exhaustion, and as soft if UI is replaced by follow-on benefits or participation in active labor market programs (ALMP). We find that both hard and soft constraints raise the job hazard significantly, with surprisingly similar spikes at UI exhaustion. Participation in ALMP raises the probability of eventually finding a job, but at the cost of lengthening the overall job-search period.

JEL:

C14, C15, C41, J64, J65, J68

Keywords:

Competing risks, unemployment insurance, timing-of-events, NPMLE, MMPH

Project:

Oppdragsgiver: Norges forskningsråd
Oppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 185201
Frisch prosjekt: 1181 - Activation and social insurance