Tax Policy Center

Experts

Ryan Nunn

Fellow in Economics Studies and Policy Director for the Hamilton Project

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Brief

Unemployment Insurance (UI) serves a core purpose that is intuitive for both economists and noneconomists: it provides insurance against the risk of job loss. Because employment is the only or primary source of income for most families, job loss often delivers a financial blow that would be...

October 28, 2019
Ryan NunnDavid Ratner
Research report

This paper addresses economic issues related to the unemployment insurance (UI) system, focusing on the worker- and employer-facing aspects of UI policy—i.e., the ways that benefits are provided to workers and that employers are taxed to fund those benefits. We outline principles for optimal...

October 27, 2019
Ryan NunnDavid Ratner
Research report

Unemployment insurance (UI) helps workers to smooth their consumption after employment loss, but also diminishes their incentive to quickly find new jobs. While both of these considerations have been extensively studied, little or no attention has been paid to possible implications of UI for...

February 8, 2018
Ryan NunnLaura KawanoBen Klemens
Brief

Unemployment insurance (UI) helps workers smooth their consumption after employment loss, but may also diminish their incentive to quickly find new jobs, thereby lengthening spells of unemployment and raising the aggregate unemployment rate. Less appreciated is the effect that UI has on...

February 8, 2018
Ryan NunnLaura KawanoBen Klemens