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Explore the latest working papers and publications from our community of scholars. Here, you will find cutting-edge empirical research on socioeconomic disparities, barriers to social mobility, and the strategies to ameliorate inequality.

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Death Without Benefits: Unemployment Insurance, Re-Employment, and the Spread of Covid

Working Paper

April 10, 2024

AuthorsSungbin Park, Kyung Min Lee, John S. Earle

The University of Chicago Stone Center Working Paper Series

We find COVID rises in states with higher re-employment rates due to UI cuts: case, hospitalization, and death rates more than double. Additional wages of $1.1B offset only one-eighth of UI losses, while UI savings are offset by $14.8B in hospitalization costs. Illness-related work time losses are valued at $1.5B. Beyond monetary and morbidity costs, UI cuts are estimated to cause an additional 27,000 deaths.

No previous research has addressed the possibility that, during a pandemic, unemployment insurance (UI) may have externalities for health.

The results suggest an important role for UI during infectious stages of pandemics that should be considered for future policy design.

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