Quantifying the Benefits of Social Insurance: Unemployment Insurance and Health

NBER Working Paper No. 24766

Issued in June 2018

NBER Program(s):Health Economics, Public Economics



While the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program is one of the largest safety net program in the U.S., research on its benefits is limited. This paper exploits plausibly exogenous changes in state UI laws to empirically estimate whether UI generosity mitigates any of the previously documented negative health effects of job loss. The results show higher UI generosity increases health insurance coverage and utilization, and leads to improved self-reported health. Moreover, these effects are stronger during periods of high unemployment rates. Finally, I find no effects on risky behaviors nor on health conditions.

Acknowledgments

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w24766

Published: Elira Kuka, 2020. "Quantifying the Benefits of Social Insurance: Unemployment Insurance and Health," The Review of Economics and Statistics, vol 102(3), pages 490-505.