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Research report

Rethinking Unemployment Insurance Taxes and Benefits

Ryan Nunn, David Ratner
October 27, 2019
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Abstract

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 design, grounding these principles in the relevant research literature. These principles guide the empirical analysis of the paper, which focuses on establishing the quantitative importance of the considerations that motivate those principles. This leads to several specific areas of investigation and policy recommendations: benefit structure, rules for eligibility, experience-rated UI tax schedules, and interactions of UI with part-time work, among others.

Research Area

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms Fundamental reform proposals Federal Budget and Economy Economic effects of tax policy Federal spending Individual Taxes Unemployment taxes and compensation
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Meet the Experts

  • Ryan Nunn
    Fellow in Economics Studies and Policy Director for the Hamilton Project
  • David Ratner
Research report

New Evidence on The Effect of The TCJA On the Housing Market

Robert McClelland, Livia Mucciolo, Safia Sayed
March 30, 2022
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