Micro and Macro Effects of UI Policies: Evidence from Missouri

RePEc Short ID: pmi418
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3631-1073

Karahan, Fatih; Mitman, Kurt; Moore, Brendan

Report

Micro and Macro Effects of UI Policies: Evidence from Missouri

Abstract: We develop a method to jointly measure the response of worker search effort (micro effect) and vacancy creation (macro effect) to changes in the duration of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. To implement this approach, we exploit an unexpected cut in UI durations in Missouri and provide quasi-experimental evidence on the effect of UI on the labor market. The data indicate that the cut in Missouri significantly increased job finding rates by both raising the search effort of unemployed workers and the availability of jobs. The latter accounts for at least one half of the total effect.

Keywords: unemployment; vacancies; unemployment insurance; search;

JEL Classification: E24; J63; J64; J65;