Unemployment Subsidies Research Articles

Long-term unemployment subsidies and middle-aged disadvantaged workers’ health

This paper examines the labour market and health effects of a non-contributory long-term unemployment (LTU) benefit targeted at middle-aged disadvantaged workers. To do so, we exploit a Spanish reform introduced in July 2012 that increased the age eligibility threshold to receive the benefit from 52 to 55. Our results show that men who were eligible for the benefit experience a reduction in injury hospitalisations by 12.9% as well as a 2 percentage points drop in the probability of a mental health diagnosis. None of the results are significant for women. We document two factors that explain the gender differences: the labour market impact of the reform is stronger for men, and eligible men are concentrated in more physically demanding sectors, like construction. Importantly, we also find evidence of a program substitution effect between LTU and partial disability benefits. Our results highlight the role of long-term unemployment benefits as a protecting device for the (physical and mental) health of middle-aged, low-educated workers who are in a disadvantaged position in the labour market.

The effects of neighborhood socioeconomic status on ADL/IADL among Chinese older adults-neighborhood environments as mediators.

There have been few consistencies in the effects and pathways of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on functional limitations. This study aimed to investigate whether neighborhood socioeconomic status influences ADL/IADL in older residents in China through the neighborhood built environment and social environment. Activities of daily living/IADL were assessed in a sample of 5,887 Chinese individuals aged 60 or older, utilizing data obtained from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2011). Neighborhood SES was measured by the neighborhood per-capita net income. Neighborhood built environment was measured by the security resources, motion resources, living resources, service resources for older adults, and medical resources of neighborhood. Neighborhood social environment was measured by the organizations, unemployment subsidies, minimum living allowance, subsidies to persons older than 65, and pensions to persons older than 80 of the neighborhood. The two-level logistical regression model and multilevel structural equation model (MSEM) were used. The rate of ADL/IADL loss among Chinese older adults aged 60 and above in 2011 were 32.17 and 36.87%, respectively. Neighborhood SES was significantly associated with ADL/IADL in older adults. Compared with the respondents living in communities with lower SES, those living in communities with higher SES possessed better ADL (β = -0.33, p < 0.05) and IADL (β = -0.36, p < 0.05) status. The path of neighborhood socioeconomic status on ADL was completely mediated by the neighborhood built environment (β = -0.110, p < 0.05) and neighborhood social environment (β = -0.091, p < 0.05). Additionally, the effect of neighborhood socioeconomic status on IADL was fully mediated by the neighborhood built environment (β = -0.082, p < 0.05) and neighborhood social environment (β = -0.077, p < 0.05). Neighborhood SES was significantly correlated with ADL/IADL through the neighborhood environment. Improving the ADL/IADL status of older adults residing in low socioeconomic neighborhoods requires enhancing the built and social environment by provisioning additional neighborhood resources.

Family resilience during the COVID-19 onset: A daily-diary inquiry into parental employment status, parent-adolescent relationships, and well-being.

COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent-adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020-4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020-6/1/2020; N = 635 parent-adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents' and children's daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent-adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents' and adolescents' daily affect. Although SES did not moderate these links, low-income families were more likely to experience job loss, parent-adolescent conflict, and inter-adult conflict and less likely to WFH than higher-income families. As inter-relations within the family are a malleable point for intervention, clinicians working with families recovering from the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to use approaches that strengthen family relationships, especially between adolescents and their parents. Unemployment subsidies are discussed as a means to support families struggling with job loss, and organizations are urged to consider the benefits of WFH on employee health and work-life balance.

Convergence or Divergence: Preferences for Establishing an Unemployment Subsidy During the COVID-19 Period by Taxing Across Earnings Redistribution in Urban China.

With the advancement of marketization, China has achieved rapid economic growth and economic class differentiation. This research analyzes the data from China’s livelihood survey, divides the urban Chinese into five socio-economic classes, and tests their preferences and tendencies for income redistribution. It obtains the general attitude differences in subsidy policy and income inequality during COVID-19. Our conclusion are consistent with the existing literature to a great extent; that is, personal factors (self-interest and belief in fairness) play a crucial role in the attitude of Chinese citizens. In the analysis of situational factors, the results show that the higher the level of marketization, the people are more likely to have stronger negative emotions about subsidy or redistribution policies. Further analysis shows that people with the lowest income are susceptible to the fact that income inequality has become significant and show a strong willingness to support the government’s redistribution policy. In contrast, middle-class people tend to favor the government’s redistribution policy, although they will not benefit much from the redistribution policy. Therefore, they lack the motivation to support the government in vigorously implementing the subsidy policy. Significantly, high-income people are indifferent, as they lack such motivation even more. The difference in redistribution preferences between upper-class and lower-class groups signals polarization in Chinese society, especially income redistribution.

Correlation Study of Community Social Environment and Self-Rated Health of Middle-Aged and Older Adults

To analyze the impact of the social environment of a community on the self-rated health of middle-aged and older adults living in the community, and to provide a basis for building favorable community social environment that promotes the health of middle-aged and older adults. Using the community and individual survey data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) done in 2011, 7822 middle-aged and older adults living in 397 communities were selected as the subjects of the study. Community social environment under study included community socioeconomic status, community social security and community services. Self-rated health was measured with a five-level score. A three-level hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) was used to analyze the impact of community social environment on the self-rated health of middle-aged and older adults. The proportion of subjects who reported self-rated poor health was 28.8%. According to the results of the three-level HGLM, the self-rated health of middle-aged and older adults showed differences at both the city and the community levels, and the variance reduction ratio reached 35.71% at the community level. The self-rated health status of residents in the communities with medium and high net per capita income was better than that in the communities with low net per capita income ( OR=0.84, P<0.05; OR=0.70, P<0.05). The self-rated health status of residents in the communities with secondary and higher education levels was better than that in the communities with low education level ( OR=0.78, P<0.05; OR=0.73, P<0.05). The self-rated health of middle-aged and older adults in the communities with unemployment subsidies was much better ( OR=0.77, P<0.05). The self-rated health status of middle-aged and older adults with chronic diseases was worse ( OR=4.46, P<0.05). Middle-aged and older adults living in cities had better self-rated health status ( OR=0.67, P<0.05). Community socioeconomic status and community unemployment subsidy are positively correlated with the self-rated health of middle-aged and older adults living in the community. It is necessary to pay special attention to the health status of middle-aged and older adults in communities of low socioeconomic status, improve unemployment insurance policies, and promote the health of middle-aged and older adults.

Demographic and socio-economic factors influencing health inequalities in the Czech Republic

Abstract Health inequalities, which could be prevented by appropriate means in various areas, are generally perceived as a consequence of injustice in the society and are mostly the result of inequalities in social determinants. The main goal of this article is to determine health inequalities defined by demographic and socio-economic factors at the level of districts of the Czech Republic in the period 2007–2018(due to the specific differences in data, the Capital City of Prague region was not included). The following statistical methods were used to process the data: correlation analysis, principal component analysis, composite indicator, cluster analysis and multidimensional factor analysis. The value of the composite indicator shows a very favorable situation in the districts of Praha-východ and Praha-západ (especially high proportion of university students, low unemployment, age index, infant mortality, abortion rate and housing subsidies), and the unfavourable situation in the districts of Chomutov, Teplice and Most (especially high housing and unemployment subsidies, low rate of university students, negative migration balance, high rates of infant mortality and abortion). The results specify regional disparities of demographic and socio-economic indicators that can cause health inequalities: negative regional disparities (Most, Teplice, Děčín, Bruntál, Karviná, Ostrava-město and Jeseník districts) and positive regional disparities (Praha-západ, Praha-východ, Mladá Boleslav, Jihlava and Brno-venkov). The study presents the results of analyses based on the example of smaller territorial units (districts) and confirms the existence of regional disparities in accordance with research at the national and international level. Highlights for public administration, management and planning: • Demographic factors are connected to socio-economic environmental factors (poverty, education, social exclusion, unemployment, social security, family situation etc.) that lead to regional health inequalities. • The regional disparities of selected demographic and socio-economic indicators of the districts of the Czech Republic that cause health inequalities were specified.

Essentially unemployed: potential implications of the COVID-19 crisis and fiscal response on income inequality

I analyze the impact of the CARES Act unemployment subsidy on US income and inequality in the first month of the COVID-19 crisis using March-April Current Population Survey data. I then use monthly industry unemployment data to extend this panel to July. Next, I estimate the impact of the expiration of the CARES Act subsidy on average income and inequality. Finally, I extend the panel to November to simulate the effects of proposed HEALS and HEROES Acts. I find the CARES Act subsidy was effective at increasing average income above pre-crisis levels and reducing inequality. The expiration of the CARES Act subsidy caused a decrease in average income and increase in inequality relative to pre-crisis levels. I find the proposed HEALS legislation will return inequality to near pre-crisis levels, while the proposed HEROES Act will result in higher income and lower inequality than existed before the crisis.

COVID-19 and the Well-being of Children and Families.

No one is immune to the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although the United States has >4 million confirmed cases and >144 000 deaths at the time of this writing,1 COVID-19’s effects on individuals and communities extend far beyond hospitalizations and mortality. Pandemics disturb individual and community well-being through direct effects of the illness and through emotional isolation, economic loss, work and school closure, and inadequate distribution of needed resources, among others.2 Previous research highlights consequences of pandemic mitigation efforts (such as quarantine) on stress, depression, fear, anger, boredom, stigma, and other negative states.3 Adults already report worse psychological well-being now as compared to before COVID-19.4 Because data suggest that children might less frequently transmit5 or become severely ill from the virus,6,7 the unique consequences that COVID-19 exerts on children risk being overlooked. Data on child and family well-being during COVID-19 are sparse, yet recent reports of increased family violence are ominous.8 Given the body of knowledge of the damaging effects of toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences on developing brains and lifelong health,9 a clearer representation of how the pandemic is affecting children and families is urgently needed.Addressing this critical issue in this month’s Pediatrics, Patrick et al10 report findings from a cross-sectional survey inquiring how COVID-19 has affected the physical and emotional health of US parents and children. By leveraging an existing panel, the research team rapidly deployed a novel online survey to parents (N = 1011) of children aged <18 years, generating nationally representative estimates of changes in well-being between March and June. Patrick et al10 observed that more than one-quarter of parents reported worse mental health and that 14% reported worse behavioral health in their children. Results were most striking for single parents and parents of the youngest children, of whom approximately one-third reported worse mental health. Nearly 1 in 4 lost regular child care, and modest changes in food insecurity and employer-sponsored insurance coverage were observed.These findings are foreboding even if some expected higher rates of worsening well-being. The effects of stress during crises are cumulative, and we should expect well-being outcomes to worsen with time. Consequences of isolation and quarantine are perpetuated by longer duration, financial loss, and preexisting mental health challenges, and they can persist beyond the quarantine period.3 Data from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 epidemic in 2003 suggest that members of the general public impacted by the epidemic (ie, quarantined) had psychiatric symptoms months after the epidemic’s control.11 Additionally, common survey limitations, including cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data collection, social desirability bias, or unintended selection bias due to COVID-19 itself, could skew the results toward more neutral findings.Families’ experiences of the pandemic are not uniform. Baseline physical and mental health, local and state policy decisions,12 race and/or ethnicity,13,14 economic stability,15 individual and community resources,13 immigration status,16 and geography17 all influence the relationship between COVID-19 and well-being. In the study by Patrick et al,10 although some parents reported worse child physical health, even more reported better physical health. Exploring what drove some parents to report improvements in child and/or parent mental or physical health could inspire novel interventions to bolster resilience during the pandemic. Longitudinal analyses may reveal COVID-19’s dynamic relationship with well-being. Future studies quantifying variation in well-being metrics within communities and over time could reveal best- and worst-case scenarios for children and families, expose critical inequities, and help uncover novel risk and protective factors to guide policy.The pandemic has wide-reaching ramifications, and responses must account for its impact on children and families. With their findings, Patrick et al10 reiterate the need for clinicians to address these concepts during routine encounters. Researchers can build on this study by expanding the conceptualization of well-being to integrate resilience, positive social connection, purpose, autonomy, etc18 in observational and interventional studies. Policy makers should address several immediate challenges on the horizon facing families. Although the Families First Coronavirus Response Act19 and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act20 may have temporized well-being consequences, unemployment subsidies and eviction moratoria expire at the end of July, eroding safeguards against homelessness, hunger, and poverty.21–23 Schools are unlikely to open for most children next year, despite providing vital access to food for >30 million children24 as well as health and therapeutic services.25 Online school may be more challenging for children with special health care needs.26 Limited child care will strain working parents, especially mothers. Racial and/or ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection and consequences27,28 are inexcusable and should be addressed directly. A full recovery from COVID-19 will require care for the well-being of our populations. The study by Patrick et al10 is a valuable step toward that recovery.

Debt and austerity: international evidence and the case of Brazil

The term austerity indicates a policy of sizable reduction of government deficits and stabilizationof government debt achieved by means of spending cuts or tax increases, or acombination of both. In this paper we ask two questions with an eye on the case of Brazil:what type of austerity policies can achieve the fiscal goals at the lowest costs in terms ofoutput growth, and what are the electoral effects for governments implementing them?If governments followed adequate fiscal policies most of the time, we would almost never havea need for austerity. Economic theory and good policy practice suggest that a governmentshould run deficits during recessions – when tax revenues are lower and government spendingis higher due to the working of fiscal stabilizers such as unemployment subsidies. Thesedeficits should then be balanced by surpluses during booms, when spending needs are lower.

Utilization of Mixed Distributions in the Calculation of Polarization: The Case of Spain

This study analyzes the evolution of salary polarization in the Spanish labor market. The paper proposes the use of mixed distributions to examine the consequences of the economic crisis in one of the European markets in which the unemployment rate has had greatest impact. Applying this type of distribution aims to establish the contribution of a fixed group (the unemployed population, in this particular case) to overall polarization. How unemployment benefits impact on polarization has also been analyzed. Generally speaking, the tendency of the polarization indexes calculated changes around the beginning of the crisis, with decreasing numbers during the economic growth period and the opposite behaviour in the crisis period. In addition, when mixed distributions are used, the results show that the unemployed group has played an important role in the increase of social tension from 2008 onwards. Finally, the evidence obtained shows that unemployment subsidies do not always reduce salary tensions between group populations and, in some cases, increase polarization.

Mercados de Trabajo y Prestaciones Asistenciales Agrarias en las Regiones Españolas de Andalucía y Extremadura: diferencias territoriales y perfiles demográficos de sus beneficiarios

Resumen: Los trabajadores eventuales agrarios de Andalucía y Extremadura tienen un tratamiento especial en las prestaciones por desempleo respecto a los otros territorios españoles. Son el Subsidio de Desempleo Agrario y la Renta Agraria. El objetivo planteado es conocer los cambios sociodemográficos que sufre este colectivo pasados 30 años de su implantación así como su distribución a escala provincial y municipal. Las fuentes utilizadas proceden de Instituciones Oficiales que ofrecen información municipalizada, entre otras variables, de parados, afiliados y beneficiarios de estas prestaciones. Cuando los datos lo permiten los análisis demográficos y territoriales se hacen a nivel de municipio y, en su defecto, provincial. Se concluye que el perceptor del Subsidio Agrario es decreciente en su número, cada vez más envejecido y feminizado y mayoritariamente desligado del mercado de trabajo agrario. El de la Renta Agraria es un colectivo creciente, más joven e igualmente feminizado aunque irrumpe, a partir de 2009, el varón joven y muy joven a consecuencia de la crisis económica. Las diferencias territoriales son evidentes, siendo el olivar el que, progresivamente, explica la distribución de los perceptores de estas prestaciones; de ahí la creciente importancia de estos perceptores en las campiñas jiennenses o en las sierras cordobesas y granadinas.

Job Insecurity and Financial Distress

This paper investigates the effects of job insecurity on households' likelihood of experiencing financial distress. Households with less secure jobs are likely to experience drops in income more frequently than households with stable and well-protected jobs. Given imperfect financial markets and the absence of unemployment subsidies, these households will thus have more difficulty in smoothing consumption, resulting in financial distress. Households’ abilities to deal with financial decisions (i.e. financial literacy) can mitigate these problems. Our results suggest that greater job insecurity increases the probability of being in financial distress more (i.e. the ratio of odds is larger than one) than other working statuses (e.g. unemployment). However, a high level of financial literacy can counterbalance this effect.

Job insecurity and financial distress

This article investigates the effects of different job categories on households’ likelihood of experiencing financial distress. Given imperfect financial markets and the absence of unemployment subsidies, households with less secure jobs are likely to experience drops in income more frequently than households with well-protected jobs. Households’ abilities to deal with financial decisions (i.e. financial literacy) can mitigate these problems. Our results suggest that – with respect to stable workers – greater job uncertainty for insecure workers increases the probability of being in financial distress similarly to other working statuses (e.g. unemployment), and in some cases even more (i.e. part-time workers). However, a high level of financial literacy can counterbalance this effect, especially for atypical workers.

Job Insecurity and Financial Distress

This paper investigates the effects of different job categories on households’ likelihood of experiencing financial distress. Given imperfect financial markets and the absence of unemployment subsidies, households with less secure jobs are likely to experience drops in income more frequently than households with well-protected jobs. Households’ abilities to deal with financial decisions (i.e. financial literacy) can mitigate these problems. Our results suggest that greater job insecurity increases the probability of being in financial distress similarly than other working statuses (e.g. unemployment), and in some cases even more (i.e. part-time workers). However, a high level of financial literacy can counterbalance this effect, especially for atypical workers.

Sustainability of universal health coverage in Italy: a modelling study

BackgroundItaly and the Eurozone are in their largest ever financial depression. Several, often contradictory, public economic and financial stability emergency interventions are being introduced, whose ultimate effects on public and private health spending and on the sustainability of universal health coverage are difficult to predict. We assessed their magnitude and effect on sustainability of publicly funded health care and universal coverage. The Italian Economic and Stability Reform Program 2011–14 assumes that: gross domestic product will grow exponentially between 2011 and 2014, at a rate of 3·18% per year compared with 3·29% in the period 1997–2010; the public component of health-care financing will not grow in the period 2011–14 compared with growth of 0·82% per year for 1997–2010; and growing expenditure for non-health applications—for example, sovereign debt service, pensions, unemployment subsidies, sovereign debt fiscal compact, and deficit reduction—is not expected to affect health financing and universal coverage. MethodsWe analysed the Italian Economic and Stability Reform Program 2011–2014, which incorporates Eurostat and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development health and economic data and guidelines, and developed a quantitative synthetic sustainability index σ based on simple partial and absolute differential equations to account for simultaneous variation in total health financing, its public component, and nominal gross domestic product. We tested historical trends and projections adjusted with the sustainability index σ with standard population Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients. FindingsThe Italian Economic and Stability Reform Program 2011–2014 focuses its public health-care financing interventions on freezing the exponential growth of public health financing propensity (the ratio between public health financing and the nominal gross domestic product; presently roughly 7% of gross domestic product), while adjusting the growth rate of public health financing (exponential growth rate=2·83%, r=0·98) to that of gross domestic product (exponential growth rate=3·18%, r=1·00). Under the assumptions of the Economic and Stability Reform Program, the sustainability index σ is in the financially sustainable range (–1<σ<0). If growth of gross domestic product between 2011 and 2014 is insufficient—as it has been for January, to June, 2012 (–2·40%)—then the assumptions of the Program will not hold and the index will increase to more than 1, making universal health coverage financially unsustainable. InterpretationHealth professionals should advise Italian and Eurozone national budget planners and financial health regulators before unselective public health financing and provision shortages following the European Fiscal Compact Convergence and Stability Parameters incorporated in the Italian Economic and Stability Reform Program damage universal health coverage in Italy. FundingUniversity of Milano-Bicocca, University of Bergamo.

Establishments Dynamics and Matching Frictions in Classical Competitive Equilibrium

This paper develops a Walrasian equilibrium theory of establishment level dynamics and matching frictions and uses it to evaluate the effects of congestion externalities in the matching process and determine the government interventions that are needed to implement a Pareto optimal allocation. The optimal policy, which involves a tax on the creation of help-wanted ads and an unemployment subsidy, is highly contractionary. However, it leads to large welfare gains. The policy also plays an important role in dampening the response of the economy to aggregate productivity shocks.

Technology and Labor Regulations

Many low skilled jobs have been substituted away for machines in Europe, or eliminated, much more so than in the US, while technological progress at the top, i.e. at the high-tech sector, is faster in the US than in Europe. This paper suggests that the main difference between Europe and the US in this respect is their different labor market policies. European countries reduce wage flexibility and inequality through a host of labor market regulations, like binding minimum wage laws, permanent unemployment subsidies, firing costs, etc. Such policies create incentives to develop and adopt labor saving capital intensive technologies at the low end of the skill distribution. At the same time technical change in the US is more skill biased than in Europe, since American skilled wages are higher. In the last few years some partial labor market reforms in Europe may have started to slow down or even reverse this trend.

Reemployment of dislocated workers in urban China: The roles of information and incentives

Using original survey data from China, we estimate a discrete duration model to study the reemployment of urban workers who lost jobs involuntarily during the restructuring of China's state sector. Taking the number of relatives living in the same city as an exogenous measure of social networks, we provide empirical evidence of the importance of these networks in job search. In contrast to studies of other transition economies, our results suggest that access to unemployment subsidies reduces the probability of reemployment within a year by 34 percent for men. Unlike men, women's reemployment is not responsive to public subsidies, although it is responsive to family circumstances. Women with children of college age are reemployed faster, especially if the local community provides employment referral services, while women with older adult children are less likely to be reemployed within a year. Journal of Comparative Economics 34 (3) (2006) 582–607.

On the Optimal Timing of Benefits with Heterogeneous Workers and Human Capital Depreciation

This paper studies the optimal timing of unemployment insurance subsidies in a McCall search model. Risk-averse workers sequentially sample random job opportunities. Our model distinguishes unemployment subsidies from consumption during unemployment by allowing workers to save and borrow freely. When the insurance agency faces a group of homogeneous workers solving stationary search problems, the optimal subsidies are independent of unemployment duration. In contrast, when workers are heterogeneous or when human capital depreciates during the spell, the optimal subsidy is no longer constant. We explore the main determinants of the shape of the optimal subsidy schedule, isolating forces for subsidies to optimally rise or fall with duration.

Reemployment of Dislocated Workers in Urban China: The Roles of Information and Incentives

Using original survey data from China, we estimate a discrete duration model to study the reemployment of urban workers who lost jobs during China's major restructuring of the state sector in the late 1990s. Using an exogenous measure of social networks, the number of relatives living in the same city, we provide new empirical support for the importance of social networks in job search. In contrast to studies of other transition economies, our results suggest that access to unemployment subsidies reduces the probability of reemployment within a year substantially (by 34 percent) for men. Unlike men, women's reemployment is not responsive to public subsidies, but is responsive to family circumstances. Women with children of college age are reemployed faster, especially if the local community provides employment referral services, while women with older adult children are less likely to be reemployed.