welfare. This insight leads to a novel test for the optimality of unemployment insurance based on the responsiveness of … reservation wages to unemployment benefits. Some existing estimates imply significant gains to raising the current level of … unemployment benefits in the United States, but highlight the need for more research on the determinants of reservation wages. Our …

We study the optimal design of unemployment insurance for workers sampling job opportunities over time. We focus on the … absolute risk aversion preferences, a very simple policy is optimal: a constant benefit during unemployment, a constant tax … liquidity to smooth their consumption; and providing unemployment subsidies that serve as insurance against the uncertain …