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2 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 215 (1999-2000)
Unemployment Insurance in the United States: Analysis of Policy Issues

handle is hein.journals/upjlel2 and id is 225 raw text is: Book Review

Unemployment Insurance in the United States: Analysis of Policy Issues,
O'Leary, Christopher and Wandner, Stephen A., eds. (W.E. Upjohn
Institute for Employer Research, 1997. 761 pp. $55.56).
reviewed by Paul L. Burgesst
This collection of readings is essential for anyone interested in the
Unemployment Insurance (UI) system    in the United States.  The
interested set of readers should include policymakers, worker groups,
firms, UI administrators, and researchers. The current volume represents
the third in a trilogy of reference works on the U.S. system supported by
the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Haber and Murray
began the series in 1966 with Unemployment Insurance in the American
Economy, which continues to be a valuable reference source even today.
Next, Blaustein expanded and extended the scope of the first volume to
include subsequent developments in the U.S. program, to place the first
fifty years of the American program in historical context, and to examine
the evolution of UI programs in the U.S. and abroad in his 1993 volume
entitled Unemployment Insurance in the United States: The First Half
Century (hereinafter Unemployment Insurance Policy).   The current
volume differs from its predecessors because, rather than describing the
system and its historical evolution, O'Leary and Wandner have chosen
contributors who emphasize what we have learned from hundreds of often
complex studies of the U.S. system. In many cases, the chapters probably
also provide useful insights into the incentives and outcomes likely to
accompany similar UI features in other countries.
The organization of Unemployment Insurance Policy reflects the fact
that the UI program is a federal-state partnership. The Social Security Act
and the Federal Unemployment Tax Act provide the federal context within
which each State operates its program according to state laws and policies.
The result of this framework is a rich diversity in how states operate their
individual programs.  Benefit eligibility, duration, and amounts are
t Paul L. Burgess is a Professor of Economics in the College of Business at Arizona
State University, Tempe, Arizona.

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