This thesis examines a number of issues regarding the Mortensen-Pissarides search and matching model’s empirical performance. Chapter 1 documents the volatility puzzle with the Canadian data. The combined data from both Canada and the United States present an additional difficulty. Even if the unobserved value of leisure is allowed to be as high as required to fit the business cycle in the United States or in Canada, the model cannot reconcile the similar labor cycles with the large policy differences in the UI benefits and income taxes in the two countries when the value of leisure is assumed to be the same in both countries. Chapter 2 takes into account the realistic institutional features of the UI system and investigates the impacts of the UI benefits on the labor market outcomes. If entitlement to UI benefits must be earned with employment, generous UI is an additional benefit to an employment relationship, so it promotes job creation. If individuals are risk neutral, UI is fairly priced, and the UI system prevents moral-hazard unemployed workers, the generosity of UI has no effect on unemployment. Chapter 3 shows that the Mortensen-Pissarides search and matching model can be successfully parameterized to generate observed large cyclical fluctuations in unemployment and modest responses of unemployment to changes in the UI benefits. The key features behind this success are the endogenous eligibility for UI benefits and the heterogeneity of workers. With the linear utilities commonly assumed in the Mortensen-Pissarides model, a fully rated UI system designed to prevent moral hazard has no effect on unemployment. However, the UI system in the United States is neither fully rated nor able to prevent workers with low productivity from quitting their jobs or rejecting employment offers to collect benefits. As a result, an increase in UI generosity has a positive, but realistically small, effect on unemployment. This chapter answers the Costain and Reiter (2008) criticism with the Mortensen-Pissarides model.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 2002. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

The evolution of the Unemployment Insurance Programme since 1940 has led to the abandonment of the intended insurance nature of the programme. As a result, it can no longer be considered solely an income protection scheme. Rather, it has evolved into an income maintenance plan aimed at supplementing the income of seasonal workers in high unemployment regions. As a consequence, there has been an interprovincial transfer of unemployment insurance funds from low to high unemployment regions. The regional characteristics of the programme have also distorted the structure of labour markets in high unemployment regions by attracting workers in seasonal industries therefore maintaining unemployment rates high.

Income support programs constitute an integral component of modern labour markets and represent significant fiscal commitments on the part of governments. This thesis examines two key income support programs in Canada and their impact on labour market outcomes, namely employment insurance (EI) and social assistance (SA). Together expenditures on EI and SA represented approximately 2 per cent of Canadian GDP in 1998-99 and influenced a range of labour market decisions relating to labour force participation, employment and unemployment spells. The analysis in this thesis provides new evidence on the role of the EI and SA programs on labour market outcomes by examining the interface between the programs and labour market behaviour. An analysis of the take-up of SA amongst a sample of SA eligible individuals is also undertaken that provides new evidence on the determinants of participation in the SA program in Canada. The analysis in this thesis uses the 1997 Canadian Out of Employment Panel dataset, a unique dataset that provides detailed information on the use of income support programs and employment patterns, and detailed information on a rich set of personal and household characteristics. The approach adopted in this thesis is to use a generalized probability transition model to examine the nature of the interface between income support programs and their effect on labour market outcomes. This approach allows the implications of changes in either program for use of the other program, and overall labour market outcomes, to be identified. The analysis of the SA take-up decision uses a discrete choice framework that explicitly takes account of the potential endogeneity of benefit levels available to the individual. A number of conclusions can be drawn from the analysis undertaken in this thesis. First, when the generosity of the SA program is reduced, individuals decrease use of both the SA and EI programs. Conversely, reducing the generosity of the EI program results in an increase in the use, albeit relatively small, of the SA program. The results of the analysis of the take-up decision of the SA program point to the key role of benefit levels and previous use of the program as determinants of the likelihood that an individual takes up SA.

The study aims to investigate the current perceptions of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIP) for domestic workers in a township called KwaNdengezi, a Durban Metro area, Pretoria section. The study used qualitative research methods to gather and interpret data. A sample consisting of 13 domestic workers, 10 employers of domestic workers, Department of Labour (UIF official) and representative from the South African Domestic and Allied Workers Union (SADAWU) were interviewed. The study found that there are negative perceptions about the policy due to the fact that people (employers and domestic workers) do not understand the policy objectives and how the policy tries to meet these objectives. The study also found that SADAWU was participated in setting the agenda for policy by identifying the problems of domestic workers and petitioning government to address them. Lastly, the study highlighted that the main problem with the implementation of the policy was that it was not communicated clearly enough which has led to many misinterpretations of the policy. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The fraud prevention measures in Unemployment Insurance Fund, North West Province, were evaluated in this study. The manual on fraud prevention measures was formulated and started implementation in 2000, and since !hen, no review was made. Different literature was reviewed to find out what other researchers say about the related problem. In reviewing literature, it was found out that fraud had an adverse effect in any business, and the best way to combat or prevent it, was to formulate and implement some preventative measures, monitor and review them at least annually. Data gathering was conducted by distributing questionnaires to different staff of Unemployment Insurance Fund throughout the North West province. The questionnaires were aimed at identifying the most vulnerable areas to fraud, evaluating the effectiveness of fraud prevention measures, identifying different types and causes of fraud and finding out whether contributors and their employers are well informed about the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The study found that the existing fraud prevention measures were not quite effective in the sense that they are reactive than preventive according to the respondents. Claims, accounts and registry sections were identified as the most vulnerable sections. The most prevalent types of frau din the UJF were found to he cheque, cash, and identity frauds, The study again found the main causes of fraud in UIF are ineffective internal controls, lack of strict supervision, income disparities and low salaries of lower level employees. It also came to light on the study that there has not been any significant change in fraud since the year 2000 after the formulation and implementation of fraud prevention measures among the ways to reduce fraud as suggested by the employees are salary review, constant supervision, intensive investigations and awareness campaigns what is essential to effectively reduce the level of fraud in the UIF is effective implementation of the preventive oriented internal controls coupled with strict supervision. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This DPhil thesis is a collection of three theoretical and empirical papers studying labor markets in several advanced economies. Two chapters examine the relationship between the banking sector and the labor market in the US and the UK, while one evaluates a policy that has been proposed to help labor markets in the Euro Area adjust to economic shocks. In the first chapter, I develop a New Keynesian DSGE model that integrates a banking sector subject to moral hazard with a standard random search model of the labor market. I estimate the model using US data and study the role of the banking sector in determining labor market fluctuations. In the second chapter, I estimate a structural VAR model of the UK and US economies and identify bank lending shocks using a mix of sign and short-run exclusion restrictions. Consistent with the predictions of the DSGE model, an expansionary loan supply shock decreases job-destruction and increases job-creation, reducing the unemployment rate persistently. Bank lending shocks are also important drivers of labor market fluctuations, particularly during the Great Recession. Lastly, in the third chapter, I calibrate to the Euro Area a currency union DSGE model to evaluate the aggregate properties of European Unemployment Insurance (EUI). I find that EUI cannot contemporaneously stabilize the monetary union and achieve convergence in regional unemployment and inflation rates.

Submitted by Artur Bezerra de Carvalho (arturfgv@gmail.com) on 2011-04-05T15:07:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Artur Bezerra de Carvalho - Dissertation.pdf: 609670 bytes, checksum: 93564d7d95ef0bb338d1d1015dd5ec21 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Andrea Virginio Machado(andrea.machado@fgv.br) on 2011-04-05T19:45:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Artur Bezerra de Carvalho - Dissertation.pdf: 609670 bytes, checksum: 93564d7d95ef0bb338d1d1015dd5ec21 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-04-07T17:16:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Artur Bezerra de Carvalho - Dissertation.pdf: 609670 bytes, checksum: 93564d7d95ef0bb338d1d1015dd5ec21 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-05 / The purpose of this work is to provide a brief overview of the literature on the optimal design of unemployment insurance systems by analyzing some of the most influential articles published over the last three decades on the subject and extend the main results to a multiple aggregate shocks environment. The properties of optimal contracts are discussed in light of the key assumptions commonly made in theoretical publications on the area. Moreover, the implications of relaxing each of these hypothesis is reckoned as well. The analysis of models of only one unemployment spell starts from the seminal work of Shavell and Weiss (1979). In a simple and common setting, unemployment benefits policies, wage taxes and search effort assignments are covered. Further, the idea that the UI distortion of the relative price of leisure and consumption is the only explanation for the marginal incentives to search for a job is discussed, putting into question the reduction in labor supply caused by social insurance, usually interpreted as solely an evidence of a dynamic moral hazard caused by a substitution effect. In addition, the paper presents one characterization of optimal unemployment insurance contracts in environments in which workers experience multiple unemployment spells. Finally, an extension to multiple aggregate shocks environment is considered. The paper ends with a numerical analysis of the implications of i.i.d. shocks to the optimal unemployment insurance mechanism. / O objetivo deste trabalho é prover uma revisão sucinta da literatura sobre o desenho ótimo de programas de seguro-desemprego, por meio da análise de alguns dos artigos mais influentes publicados nas últimas três décadas, e estender os seus principais resultados para um ambiente econômico sujeito a choques agregados. As propriedades dos contratos ótimos são discutidas à luz das hipóteses-chave usualmente adotadas em publicações teóricas nessa área. Além disso, as implicações associadas ao relaxamento dessas hipóteses também são investigadas. A análise de modelos que contemplam apenas um ciclo de desemprego começa com o trabalho de Shavell e Weiss (1979). A partir de um ambiente econômico simples e comum à maioria dos trabalhos, estudam-se as políticas de benefícios, taxas sobre os salários e o nível ótimo de esforço a ser exercido na procura por emprego. Adicionalmente, questiona-se a idéia de que as distorções no preço relativo de consumo e lazer provocadas pelo seguro-desemprego são a única explicação para alterações marginais dos incentivos à procura por emprego. Usualmente interpretada como um problema de perigo-moral causado por um efeito-substtituição, a redução na oferta de trabalho causada por programas de seguro-social é discutida sob essa nova perspectiva. Apresenta-se ainda um estudo teórico sobre contratos de seguro-desemprego ótimo quando os agentes estão sujeitos a mais de um ciclo de desemprego. Finalmente, uma extensão dos modelos a um ambiente sujeito a múltiplos choques agregados é desenvolvida. O trabalho termina com um exercício numérico acerca das implicações de choques i.i.d. sobre o desenho de programas de seguro-desemprego.

A presente tese de doutorado estuda duas questões referentes ao programa brasileiro de Seguro Desemprego: o impacto do benefício sobre o salário de reinserção dos trabalhadores beneficiados, bem como sobre o tempo de procura por emprego. No primeiro ensaio são apresentados alguns fatos estilizados referente ao problema de pesquisa, entre os quais destacam-se: i) Descrição Jurídica e os principais objetivos do Programa brasileiro de Seguro Desemprego; ii) O Status Quo do Programa Seguro Desemprego; iii) O Perfil do Trabalhador Beneficiado pelo Programa; iv) Salário de reinserção de trabalhadores contemplados e não contemplados pelo programa (2006-2009) com tempo de permanência no trabalho anterior entre um mês e onze meses; e v) Procura por emprego de trabalhadores contemplados e não contemplados pelo programa (2006-2010) com tempo de permanência no trabalho anterior entre um mês e onze meses. No segundo ensaio, avalia-se o impacto do benefício Seguro Desemprego sobre o salário de reinserção de seu público alvo, utilizando-se as Teorias de Job Search e do Capital Humano. Na estratégia empírica, utilizaram-se informações da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio - PNAD no período de 2006 a 2009, bem como o método de regressão com descontinuidade. Os resultados indicaram que para o período avaliado, o programa de Seguro Desemprego vai de encontro com as teorias, visto que não se mostrou estatisticamente significativo para influenciar o salário de reinserção dos beneficiados. No terceiro ensaio, destaca-se o impacto do benefício sobre o tempo de procura por trabalho, utilizando-se como referenciais teóricos os modelos de assimetria de informação, mais especificamente o modelo de Moral Hazard. Para análise empírica da presença do risco moral no programa, foram utilizadas informações da Pesquisa de Emprego e Desemprego - PED, no período de 2006 a 2010, e as estimativas baseadas no método de regressão com descontinuidade. Os resultados indicaram que o programa Seguro Desemprego influenciou a procura por emprego dos trabalhadores chefes de família e também dos considerados filhos. Portanto, no período avaliado, constata-se que a procura por trabalho foi realizada de modo menos intensivo pelos chefes de família e jovens que receberam o benefício, e pela inexistência de instrumentos de controle da procura por emprego por parte do Governo, a presença do risco moral acabou configurando-se no grupo de trabalhadores avaliados. / This doctoral thesis studies two issues of the Brazilian Unemployment Insurance program: the impact of the benefit on the reemployment wage of beneficiaries, as well as, job search time for reemployment. In the first test, some stylized facts regarding the research problem are presented, among which we highlight: i) Legal description and key objectives of the Brazilian Unemployment Insurance program; ii) The Status Quo of the Unemployment Insurance program; iii) Profile of the workers who benefit through the program; iv) Reemployment wage of workers, covered and not covered by the (2006-2009) program, who worked between one and eleven months in their previous job; and v) job search of workers, covered and not covered by the (2006-2010) program. The second test assesses the impact of the Unemployment Insurance benefit on the reemployment wage, using the Job Search and Human Capital theories. In the empirical strategies, the National Survey by Household Sampling – (PNAD) information, during the 2006 to 2009 period was used plus the regression discontinuity method. The results indicated that, for the evaluated period, the Unemployment Insurance program meets the theories, since it was not statistically significant in influencing the beneficiaries’ reemployment wage benefit. The third test highlights the impact of the benefit on job hunting time, using as theoretical reference the information asymmetry model, more specifically the Moral Hazard model. For the empirical analysis of the presence of moral hazard in the program, we used information from the Job and Unemployment Research (PED), during the 2006-2010 period and estimates were based on the regression discontinuity method. The results indicated that the Unemployment Insurance program influenced the search for work or job hunting of household heads and, also those considered children. Therefore, it is noted that the demand for work during the evaluated period, was performed in a less intensive manner by family heads and young people who receive the benefit and, given the absence of Government job search control methods, the presence of moral hazard eventually settled on the Group of workers assessed.