The Effect of the Potential Duration of Unemployment Benefits on Unemployment Exits to Work and Match Quality in France

Abstract

Recent empirical literature finds very limited average effects of generous unemployment benefits on match quality. This study examines those effects in a setting where they could be large. We focus on workers with low employability and evaluate the impact of a large increase in potential benefit duration from 7 to 15 months. Our regression discontinuity design does not elicit significant short-term or medium-term effects on either employment duration or wages, whereas we find large positive effects on unemployment and non-employment duration.