How Long is a Spell of Unemployment?: Illusions and Biases in the Use of CPS Data
36 Pages Posted: 26 May 2004 Last revised: 7 Jul 2022
Date Written: September 1984
Abstract
Most data used to study the durations of unemployment spells come from the Current Population Survey, which is a point-in-time survey and gives an incomplete picture of the underlying duration distribution. We introduce a new sample of completed unemployment spells obtained from panel data and apply CPS sampling and reporting techniques to replicate the type of data used by other researchers. Predicted duration distributions derived from this CPS-like data are then compared to the actual distribution. We conclude that the best inferences that can be made about unemployment durations using CPS-like data are seriously biased.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
How Viable are Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts: Simulation Results for Slovenia
-
Incentive Effects of Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts: Evidence from Chile
By Gonzalo Reyes, Jan C. Van Ours, ...
-
Incentive Effects of Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts: Evidence from Chile
By Gonzalo Reyes, Jan C. Van Ours, ...
-
Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts in Latin America: Overview and Assessment
By Ana M. Ferrer and W. Craig Riddell
-
Incentive Effects of Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts: Evidence from Chile
-
Savings for Unemployment in Good or Bad Times: Options for Developing Countries
By David A. Robalino, Milan Vodopivec, ...