Effects of Unemployment Insurance Work-Search Requirements: The Maryland Experiment

This paper describes findings from a 1994 experimental evaluation of alternative work-search requirements in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. Requiring additional employer contacts or verification of contacts reduced UI receipt by one week and $115 per claimant. Because these additional requirements did not entail additional re-employment services, the UI spell reduction can be attributed to increased non-monetary costs for remaining on UI. A job-search workshop requirement reduced UI receipt by half a week and $75 per claimant, and additional results indicate that the effects were due to increased costs of continued UI receipt rather than to enhanced job-search productivity. These treatments did not affect employment or earnings, implying that reduced UI duration led to more intensive job search, rather than a reduction in the reservation wage. In contrast, elimination of the employer contact requirement increased UI receipt and post-UI earnings, suggesting that delayed exit from UI improved job matches.