UNEMPLOYMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL DEPRECIATION, AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE POLICY
构建并估计了一个包含失业风险的生命周期模型，发现失业导致的人力资本折旧在德国比美国更严重，且德国慷慨的失业保险制度与技能折旧共同解释了德美劳动力市场表现的差异。
SUMMARY This paper presents a structural estimation of a life cycle model with unemployment risk. The model allows for human capital depreciation during unemployment. It is estimated using German and US household‐level data. The data suggest that the adverse impact of unemployment on individual productivity is important in both countries, but quantitatively more relevant in Germany. Moreover, simulations show that the combination of skill depreciation with the generous unemployment insurance system that was in place in Germany until recently is a key factor in explaining the differences in labour market performance between these countries. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.