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Relaxing household liquidity constraints through social security

Author

Listed:
  • Catherine, Sylvain
  • Miller, Max
  • Sarin, Natasha

Abstract

More than a quarter of working-age households in the United States do not have sufficient savings to cover their expenditures after a month of unemployment. Recent proposals suggest giving workers early access to a small portion of their future Social Security benefits to finance their consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. We empirically analyze their impact. Relying on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, we build a measure of households' expected time to cash shortfall based on the incidence of COVID-induced unemployment. We show that access to 1% of future benefits allows 75% of households to maintain their current consumption for three months in case of unemployment. We then compare the efficacy of access to Social Security benefits to already legislated approaches, including early access to retirement accounts, stimulus relief checks, and expanded unemployment insurance.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine, Sylvain & Miller, Max & Sarin, Natasha, 2020. "Relaxing household liquidity constraints through social security," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:189:y:2020:i:c:s0047272720301079
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104243
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chapa Cantú, Joana Cecilia & Saldaña Villanueva, Carlos Emmanuel & Luna Domínguez, Edgar Mauricio, 2023. "“Stay at home (if you can)”: informal employment and COVID-19 in Mexico," Revista Finanzas y Politica Economica, Universidad Católica de Colombia, vol. 15(1), pages 135-155, January.
    2. Rees-Jones, Alex & D’Attoma, John & Piolatto, Amedeo & Salvadori, Luca, 2022. "Experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and support for safety-net expansion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 1090-1104.
    3. Wang-Ly, Nathan & Newell, Ben R., 2022. "Allowing early access to retirement savings: Lessons from Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 716-733.
    4. Bateman, Hazel & Dobrescu, Loretti I. & Liu, Junhao & Newell, Ben R. & Thorp, Susan, 2023. "Determinants of early-access to retirement savings: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    5. Feng, Jingbing & Xu, Xian & Zou, Hong, 2023. "Risk communication clarity and insurance demand: The case of the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    6. Xie, Jiaping & Wei, Lihong & Zhu, Weijun & Zhang, Weisi, 2021. "Platform supply chain pricing and financing: Who benefits from e-commerce consumer credit?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    7. Zhang, Jiaping & Zhang, Huirong & Gong, Xiaomei, 2022. "Mobile payment and rural household consumption: Evidence from China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    8. Krzysztof Waliszewski & Anna Warchlewska, 2021. "Comparative analysis of Poland and selected countries in terms of household financial behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 16(3), pages 577-615, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; Social security; Household finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management

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