Washington Reemployment Bonus Experiment, Final Report

摘要

The principal objective of unemployment insurance (UI) is to reduce hardship byproviding labor force members with partial wage replacement during periods of involuntary unemployment. In performing the income maintenance function. UI has the potential of prolonging spells of unemployment. Indeed, leading economists began publishing research findings in the 1970s strongly suggesting that UI tends to lengthen jobless spells beyond that which would occur without UI payments. The 1980s saw several state and federal experiments, testing initiatives designed to reduce work disincentives while retaining the income maintenance functions of UI. The purpose of the Washington Reemployment Bonus (WREB) experiment was to validate results of the previous experiments, test a new range of reemployment bonus plans, and identify the most cost-effective plan. WREB was designed by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in collaboration with the Washington State Employment Security Department (WSESD) and the USDOL.