Unemployment benefits and job match quality

Abstract

The existing evidence on the relationship between benefit provision and job match quality is mixed, a number of studies finding positive but in most cases small effects, while others find no effects. Benefits enable recipients to prolong their search for better offers, but the overall benefit to society of better matches may not outweigh the cost of supporting longer periods of unemployment. From a policy perspective, it is important to achieve a smoother transition out of unemployment, striking a better balance between a sufficiently long benefit entitlement period and activation measures that enhance search effort. Unemployment