Review Of Social Economy

For over sixty years, the Review of Social Economy has published high quality peer-reviewed papers on the many relationships between social values and economics. Among the subjects addressed are income distribution, justice and equity, poverty, cooperation, human dignity, labour, workplace organization, gender, need, the environment, economic institutions, economics methodology, and class.

Among the orientations of the Review’s authors are social and socio-economics, institutionalist, solidarist, cooperativist, Post-Marxist and radical, feminist, Post Keynesian, behavioralist, and environmentalist. Papers published are both empirical and conceptual.

The final issue of each volume is guest edited, and devoted to a special theme or individual in social economics. The journal also includes short papers and comments, book reviews and review essays, and announcements of future meetings. This has been added to Social Informatics Subject Tracer™ Information Blog.

Why Unemployment Insurance Might Not Only Be Good for the Soul, It Might Also Be Good for the Economy

Morris Altman
University of Saskatchewan

Abstract:
Contrary to the conventional view that unemployment insurance serves to directly increase the rate of unemployment as well as reducing an economy’s competitiveness by increasing the market wage of labor, the argument presented in this paper is that this worldview critically depends on unrealistic behavioral assumptions. A more realistic modeling suggests that unemployment rates need not rise and competitiveness need not deteriorate with the introduction of or improvements in unemployment insurance, which can also induce increases in economic efficiency. These analytical predictions are consistent with the empirics of unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance can therefore protect the unemployed without damaging the economy.

Keywords:
unemployment insurance, x-efficiency, competition, bargaining power, wellbeing

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