Unemployment duration and Unemployment Insurance - A Comparative Analysis Based on Scandinavian Micro Data

Authors:

Røed, Knut, Peter Jensen and Anna Thoursie

Year:

2008

Reference:

Vol. 60, No. 2, 254-274.

Summary

Based on pooled register data from Norway and Sweden, we find that differences in unemployment duration patterns reflect dissimilarities in unemployment insurance (UI) systems in a way that convincingly establishes the link between economic incen-tives and job search behaviour. Specifically, UI benefits are relatively more generous for low-income workers in Sweden than in Norway, leading to relatively longer un-employment spells for low-income workers in Sweden. Based on the between-countries variation in replacement ratios, we find that the elasticity of the outflow rate from insured unemployment with respect to the replacement ratio is approximately 1 in Norway and 0.5 in Sweden.

JEL:

C41, J64

Keywords:

Unemployment spells, unemployment compensation, non-parametric duration analysis.

Project:

Oppdragsgiver: NOS-S og Nordisk ministerråd
Oppdragsgivers prosjektnr.:
Frisch prosjekt: 1212 - Unemployment insurance in the Nordic contries

Contact:

knut.roed@frisch.uio.no