Analyzing the Relation of Unemployment Insurance to Unemployment

This paper presents a framework for analyzing the relation of unemployment insurance to unemployment and applies the framework to evaluate recent developments in the UI literature and future research needs. Unemployment is decomposed into more basic elements related to the labor market flows which determine unemployment incidence and duration. It is also disaggregated by reason for unemployment -- e.g., entry into the labor force or quit last job. A matrix containing those definitional elements of unemployment which are potentially affected by the UI system forms the basis for organizing the discussion. Each component of unemployment which may be affected by variations in characteristics of the UI system is considered in turn. The discussion of each of these elements focuses on recent theoretical arid empirical studies which analyze how they are influenced by features of the UI system. By proceeding systematically through the elements which comprise unemployment and considering the major behavioral explanations linking the unemployment insurance system to unemployment, it is possible to determine where the analysis has proceeded satisfactorily and where major gaps remain.