Podcasts episode·Sep 5, 2023

Lessons from Pandemic Unemployment Benefits: When Government Generosity Becomes Necessity

Tess Vigeland, Peter Ganong, and Joseph S. Vavra
Listen / Subscribe:

The U.S. government swung into action when the ranks of the pandemic unemployed swelled almost beyond recognition. Three years on, economists are continuing to study the effects of the largest increase in unemployment benefits in U.S. history. The Harris School of Public Policy’s Peter Ganong and Chicago Booth’s Joseph Vavra join The Pie to discuss the impacts on spending and job-finding.

View Working Paper

View All Episodes

View All Episodes
Related People
Related Research

More on this topic

Podcasts episode·Oct 21, 2025

Moving to Opportunity: Together?

Tess Vigeland and Matthew J. Notowidigdo
When couples move for work, whose career takes the hit? UChicago economist Matt Notowidigdo discusses research showing that when heterosexual couples relocate, men’s incomes increase by 10-15% while women’s earnings barely budge, generating earnings gaps that last for years. Plus,...
Topics: Employment & Wages
Research Briefs·May 13, 2025

Interactive Research Brief: Measuring the Characteristics and Employment Dynamics of U.S. Inventors

Ufuk Akcigit and Nathan Goldschlag
Innovation is a key driver of economic growth, and understanding the conditions that lead people to invent new technologies can help reduce inequality between groups as well as help spur growth overall. This project aims to facilitate such efforts using...
Topics: Employment & Wages
Research Briefs·Oct 2, 2024

Moving to Opportunity, Together

Seema Jayachandran, Lea Nassal, Matthew J. Notowidigdo, Marie Paul, Heather Sarsons, and Elin Sundberg
When heterosexual couples in Germany and Sweden relocate, men’s earnings increase by 5-10%, while women’s do not change. Couples are more likely to relocate when the man, rather than the woman, is laid off. These gaps appear at least in...
Topics: Employment & Wages