Congress allowed benefits for the long-term unemployed to expire at the end of 2013 as part of a larger budget deal. Democrats have offered proposals to extend the benefits.
The latest legislation, a 10-month extension with budget offsets, was held up in the Senate on Thursday after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) blocked Republicans from offering amendments.
The liberal case for an extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed rests on the supposed simulative effect of greater disposable income for the unemployed.
The new study, conducted by economists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, contends that any such stimulus is dwarfed by the economic damage done by extending jobless benefits.
The study examines policies enacted by North Carolina that reduced the length and generosity of unemployment benefits from the state. The reforms have been presented as a test case on the likely effects of allowing federal benefits to expire.
The study found that the state’s reforms were an economic positive. After the reforms were implemented the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed workers both declined, even as it saw “a strong increase in the labor force.”
More @ The Washington Free Beacon
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