Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Wayne Vroman on Wages and Non-wage Compensation

This paper examines comparative data on compensating families for birth and adoption. Cost data (costs as a percentage of gross domestic product) are examined for 21 OECD countries with more detailed analysis reserved for the United States and Canada. The paper develops an actuarial cost framework and applies it in three situations: (1) Canada from 1975 to 2004; (2) state temporary disability insurance (TDI) programs in the United States from 1985 to 2004, both total TDI costs and the costs of pregnancy benefits; and (3) California, which now compensates families for births and adoptions through both TDI and its new program of paid family leave.

The Congress is likely to enact an economic stimulus package in 2002 that includes significant increases in Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Details of bills passed by the House and the Senate during 2001 differ widely. Great uncertainty surrounds the provisions of the bill that may be enacted sometime in the current year. This issue brief provides background information on the UI program, discusses key aspects of benefit recipiency, and describes the legislative developments to date. It provides a general discussion of UI before examining the federal legislation of 2001. The starting point is the current labor market and evidence of a recession.

With the economy in recession, President Bush is asking (has asked) Congress to reconsider the stimulus package tabled when members adjourned for the Christmas holidays. Senator Daschle has countered with a retooled democratic stimulus plan. Both contain proposals to strengthen the unemployment insurance (UI) system. As the debate intensifies it will be critical to understand the key issues - how the system works now, where it needs fixing, which workers are most affected, and how the system contributes to stimulating the economy. Below are answers to some of the questions at the heart of understanding the program and the potential impact of reforms under consideration.

This report reviews the birth and adoption unemployment compensation (BAA-UC) proposal and discusses alternative ways to compensate families for births and adoptions. It examines the changes implied for UI programs if BAA-UC is adopted. Three alternatives to BAA-UC are: 1) compensation through state temporary disability insurance (TDI), 2) partial reimbursement to employers who provide paid leave and 3) administration of payments through UI but with no link to the financing or trust funds of existing UI programs in the states. Some comparisons among these alternatives are made.

This paper compares unemployment insurance (UI) with unemployment assistance (UA) as alternative ways to protect workers against the effects of unemployment. While its scope is intended to be general, much of the discussion centers on Australia, and, to a lesser extent, the United States and Canada. The paper focuses on two topics: costs and labor market disincentives. It presents a framework for assessing the costs of unemployment protections and examines comparative data on costs. As will become obvious shortly, the paper is aimed at practitioners.