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Wage Risk and Government and Spousal Insurance

Author

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  • Mariacristina De Nardi
  • Giulio Fella
  • Gonzalo Paz-Pardo

Abstract

The extent to which households can self-insure depends on family structure and wage risk. We calibrate a model of couples and singles’ savings and labor supply under two types of wage processes. The first wage process is the canonical—age independent, linear—one that is typically used to evaluate government insurance provision. The second wage process is a flexible one. We use our model to evaluate the optimal mix of the two most common types of means-tested benefits—in-work versus income floor. The canonical wage process underestimates wage persistence for women and thus implies that in-work benefits should account for most benefit income. In contrast, the richer wage process that matches the wage data well, implies that the income floor should be the main benefit source, similarly to the system in place in the UK. This stresses that allowing for rich wage dynamics is important to properly evaluate policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariacristina De Nardi & Giulio Fella & Gonzalo Paz-Pardo, 2020. "Wage Risk and Government and Spousal Insurance," NBER Working Papers 28294, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28294
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Darapheak Tin & Chung Tran, 2023. "Lifecycle Earnings Risk and Insurance: New Evidence from Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 99(325), pages 141-174, June.
    3. Ana Sofia Pessoa, 2021. "Earnings Dynamics in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 9117, CESifo.
    4. KITAO Sagiri & MIKOSHIBA Minamo, 2022. "Why Women Work the Way They Do in Japan: Roles of Fiscal Policies," Discussion papers 22016, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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