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Unemployment Traps: Do Financial Dis-incentives matter?

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Author Info
Pedersen, Peder J. () (Centre for Labour Market and Social Research, Aarhus School of Business)
Smith, Nina () (Centre for Labour Market and Social Research, Aarhus School of Business)

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Abstract

This paper analyses the importance of financial dis-incentives for workers in Denmark. Based on a panel survey which is merged to a number of administrative registers it is possible to calculate precise measures of the economic incentives for labour force participants between employment in a full time job and being on unemployment insurance benefits and considering also the fixed costs of work. The results indicate large dis-incentives effects for groups, especially low paid women. In 1996, 6 per cent of Danish men and 13 per cent of the women had a lower disposable net income if working a full-time job compared to being on unemployment benefits. The effect of these financial dis-incentives is analysed in simple reduced form models of on-the-job search, unemployment search behaviour, unemployment risk, and transition out of the labour force. We find that the net compensation rate in unemployment has a significant impact on women's propensity to leave the labour force, on measures of search intensity, on the risk of being hit by unemployment and on one of our flexibility measures, i.e. the maximum acceptable commuting time to a job. The net compensation rate has no impact on the willingness to move to another place to get a job. However, here we find a significant impact from job attitude related measures. We end the paper reporting the results from including attitude variables along with economic variables. We find a number of significant effects from attitude variables. However, the main conclusion is that economic incentives dominate the present analysis of unemployment traps.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Centre for Labour Market and Social Research in its series CLS Working Papers with number 01-1.

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Length: 29 pages
Date of creation: 27 Jun 2002
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Handle: RePEc:hhs:aarcls:2001_001

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Postal: The Aarhus School of Business, Prismet, Silkeborgvej 2, DK 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Phone: +45 89 48 66 88
Fax: + 45 86 15 01 88
Web page: http://www.cls.dk
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Related research
Keywords: Unemployment traps Incentives Job attitudes

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Private Pensions
J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Pissarides, C. & Wadsworth, J., 1988. "On-The-Job Search: Some Empirical Evidence," Papers 317, London School of Economics - Centre for Labour Economics.
  2. Holmlund, Bertil, 1998. " Unemployment Insurance in Theory and Practice," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 100(1), pages 113-41, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Pissarides, Christopher A., 1998. "The impact of employment tax cuts on unemployment and wages; The role of unemployment benefits and tax structure," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 155-183, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Andrew Dilnot & Alan Duncan, 1992. "Lone mothers, family credit and paid work," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, February.
  5. Daron Acemoglu & Robert Shimer, 1999. "Efficient Unemployment Insurance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(5), pages 893-928, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Atkinson, A.B., 1987. "Income maintenance and social insurance," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 13, pages 779-908 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Graversen, E.K. & Smith, N., 1998. "Labour Supply, Overtime Work and Taxation in Denmark," Papers 98-06, Centre for Labour Market and Social Research, Danmark-.
  8. Callan, T. & Dex, S. & Smith, N. & Vlasblom, J.D., 1999. "Taxation of Spouses: a Cross-Country Study of the Effects on Maaried Women's Labour Supply," Papers 99-02, Centre for Labour Market and Social Research, Danmark-.
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Michael Rosholm & Rune M. Vejlin, 2007. "Reducing Income Transfers to Refugee Immigrants: Does Starthelp Help You Start?," IZA Discussion Papers 2720, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Kamil Galuscak & Jan Pavel, 2007. "Unemployment and Inactivity Traps in the Czech Republic: Incentive Effects of Policies," Working Papers 2007/9, Czech National Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  3. Kohns, Stephan, 2001. "Testing for Asymmetry in British, German and US Unemployment Data," IZA Discussion Papers 341, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Anna Cristina d'Addio & Isabelle De Greef & Michael Rosholm, 2002. "Assessing Unemployment Traps in Belgium using Panel Data Sample Selection models," 10th International Conference on Panel Data, Berlin, July 5-6, 2002 C1-3, International Conferences on Panel Data. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Michael Rosholm & Marianne Røed & Pål Schøne, 2006. "Are New Work Practices and New Technologies Biased against Immigrant Workers?," IZA Discussion Papers 2135, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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