Working Papers
Administrative Costs and Optimal Unemployment Insurance
Nathaniel Pattison
To operate the UI system, state workforce agencies incur roughly $3 billion in administrative costs each year. This paper examines the impact of UI these administrative costs on optimal UI benefit levels. Incorporating administrative expenses into the standard Baily-Chetty framework leads to non-trivial reductions in the optimal replacement rate.
Landlords as Lenders of Last Resort? Late Housing Payments During Job Loss
Nathaniel Pattison
Revision Requested at Journal of Urban Economics
This paper examines the role that late housing payments play in helping households, especially renters, cope with job loss. Using a stylized model, I show that late payments can provide a source of informal credit that helps smooth consumption when facing shocks. I then empirically examine the prevalence and consequences of missed housing payments after job loss. There are three main results. First, missed housing payments are common after job loss. Second, the dollar value of these missed payments is large, providing substantial liquidity. Third, the large majority of missed payments do not lead to evictions or other forced moves.
Eligibility Screening and Means Testing in Consumer Bankruptcy
Daniel Millimet, Nathaniel Pattison
Revision Requested at International Economic Review
In the U.S. consumer bankruptcy system, the most important decision a debtor makes is whether to file under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. This paper investigates the role of eligibility screening by courts in this decision.
Previously titled "A Tale of Two Bankruptcies: Geographic Differences in Bankruptcy Chapter Choice"