Labor market policies during an epidemic

Arbeitspapier

We study the positive and normative implications of labor market policies that counteract the economic fallout from containment measures during an epidemic. We incorporate a standard epidemiological model into an equilibrium search model of the labor market to compare unemployment insurance (UI) expansions and payroll subsidies. In isolation, payroll subsidies that preserve match capital and enable a swift economic recovery are preferred over a costequivalent UI expansion. When considered jointly, however, a cost-equivalent optimal mix allocates 20 percent of the budget to payroll subsidies and 80 percent to UI. The two policies are complementary, catering to different rungs of the productivity ladder. The relatively small proportion allocated to payroll subsidies is sufficient to preserve high-productivity jobs but this also leaves room for social assistance to workers who face inevitable job losses.

Objekt anzeigen

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper ; No. 2020-54

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity ; Fiscal Policy ; Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
• Thema: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ; Business fluctuations and cycles ; Fiscal policy ; Labour markets

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Birinci, Serdar ; Karahan, Fatih ; Mercan, Yusuf ; See, Kurt
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Bank of Canada
• (wo): Ottawa
• (wann): 2020

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: doi:10.34989/swp-2020-54
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/241220