Unemployment Insurance: The Role of Electoral Systems and Regional Labor Markets

24 Pages Posted: 19 Sep 2004

See all articles by Michael Neugart

Michael Neugart

Technical University of Darmstadt

Date Written: September 17, 2004

Abstract

Levels of insurance against unemployment vary considerably across countries. Replacement rates, the ratio relating income from unemployment to what people earned when they were employed, are higher in countries with proportional electoral systems than in countries with majoritarian system. Also, replacement rates are positively correlated with per capita income and negatively correlated with the countries' unemployment rates. We develop an electoral competition model that can replicate those stylized facts.

Keywords: Unemployment insurance, electoral system, electoral competition, regional labor markets

JEL Classification: J65, D72

Suggested Citation

Neugart, Michael, Unemployment Insurance: The Role of Electoral Systems and Regional Labor Markets (September 17, 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=592441 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.592441

Michael Neugart (Contact Author)

Technical University of Darmstadt ( email )

Hochschulstraße 1
Darmstadt, 64289
Germany

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