Question A:
The $300 supplement to weekly unemployment benefits available from now through September 6 constitutes a major disincentive to work for lower-wage workers.
Responses
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
7%
0%
0%
16%
49%
23%
5%
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
0%
18%
55%
20%
9%
Question B:
The $300 supplement to weekly unemployment benefits available from now through September 6 is likely to lead to re-employment wages for currently unemployed workers that are higher by an economically meaningful amount.
Responses
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
7%
0%
0%
14%
44%
35%
0%
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
0%
16%
46%
38%
0%
Question C:
Click to write the question text
Responses
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
0%
2%
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
© 2025. Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Question A Participant Responses
Participant |
University |
Vote |
Confidence |
Bio/Vote History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Daron Acemoglu |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Probably yes. Slow response of employment to demand doesn't seem to be due to other factors. But no hard evidence and still some uncertainty
-see background information here |
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 Joseph Altonji |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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"Major" is probably too strong, but with COVID improving and labor demand rebounding, UI benefit levels matter more now than before.
-see background information here -see background information here -see background information here |
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 Alan Auerbach |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 David Autor |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Since there's no evidence on this Q yet, only the WSJ editorial page can be certain that it constitutes a major disincentive to work!
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 Katherine Baicker |
University of Chicago | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Abhijit Banerjee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Marianne Bertrand |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Markus Brunnermeier |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Raj Chetty |
Harvard | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Judith Chevalier |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I haven't seen a study that is current.
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 David Cutler |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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the "major" part makes me uncertain.
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 Angus Deaton |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Darrell Duffie |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Aaron Edlin |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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$300 of extra money per week is quite meaningful to a low wage worker. Certainly enough to affect decisions.
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 Barry Eichengreen |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I go for "minor disincentive." More important are childcare responsibilities, fear of COVID in jobs with close personal contact.
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 Liran Einav |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Ray Fair |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Not likely "major"
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 Amy Finkelstein |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Pinelopi Goldberg |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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It depends. In sectors where demand has not yet recovered, the $300 is not the issue. Where demand has recovered, the disincentive may exist
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 Austan Goolsbee |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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So far slow hiring is not really correlated w/UI generosity either across sectors or across states. Once things are “normal” again, then yes
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 Michael Greenstone |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Robert Hall |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Only for people eligible for benefits
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 Oliver Hart |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I don't think we know enough about it. Fears of getting Covid may be a more important factor.
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 Bengt Holmström |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Caroline Hoxby |
Stanford | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Hilary Hoynes |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The existing evidence is now dated but shows that moral hazard is not large. That could be changing but no evidence yet that it has.
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 Kenneth Judd |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Steven Kaplan |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Anil Kashyap |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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How many think with the uncertainty about how reopening will proceed and the risk of reversals and another layoff, why take a job now?
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 Pete Klenow |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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There will be some adverse effect on employment, just not clear how much
-see background information here |
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 Jonathan Levin |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Eric Maskin |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 William Nordhaus |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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major too strong, but significant
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 Maurice Obstfeld |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Emmanuel Saez |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Larry Samuelson |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Anecdotal cases of benefit recipients declining work will abound, but the evidence is that the effect is not major.
-see background information here |
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 José Scheinkman |
Columbia University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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It is a disincentive but not sure about major
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 Richard Schmalensee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Clearly a disincentive, but major? Compared with the effect of schools being closed?
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 Carl Shapiro |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Robert Shimer |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Many workers are still get more in UI than their old wage.
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 James Stock |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Richard Thaler |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Christopher Udry |
Northwestern | Bio/Vote History | ||
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"Major" is probably too strong, but it does permit some workers to search more/longer for better jobs.
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Question B Participant Responses
Participant |
University |
Vote |
Confidence |
Bio/Vote History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Daron Acemoglu |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Theory strongly suggests yes. But with low employment growth and the supplement set to expire, the hoped-for impact may be small or absent.
-see background information here |
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Joseph Altonji |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I expect wages in low wage, higher turnover jobs to rise, but firms will not make big wage changes in response to a temporary policy.
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Alan Auerbach |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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David Autor |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Katherine Baicker |
University of Chicago | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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Abhijit Banerjee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Marianne Bertrand |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Markus Brunnermeier |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Raj Chetty |
Harvard | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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Judith Chevalier |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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David Cutler |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Angus Deaton |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Darrell Duffie |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Aaron Edlin |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Too complex to guess. Workers can wait for a good opportunity. But long term unemployed people often have bad opportunities.
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Barry Eichengreen |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I go for "economically marginal" instead of "economically meaningful," following the logic of my answer to the first question.
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Liran Einav |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Ray Fair |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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labor supply increases, wages rise? But wages may rise along with price inflation.
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Amy Finkelstein |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Pinelopi Goldberg |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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IFF they get re-employed, probably yes. By how much is uncertain, depends on the industry and state.
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Austan Goolsbee |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Maybe for some but not overall (yet)
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Michael Greenstone |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Robert Hall |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Oliver Hart |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Bengt Holmström |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Caroline Hoxby |
Stanford | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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Hilary Hoynes |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I want to believe this but little evidence from the US that this is the case.
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Kenneth Judd |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Higher UI benefits allows workers to spend more time looking for a good job, in terms of wages or other job characteristics.
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Steven Kaplan |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Anil Kashyap |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Pete Klenow |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Depends on how sticky wages are.
-see background information here |
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Jonathan Levin |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Eric Maskin |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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William Nordhaus |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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could add a few basis points to wage inflation
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Maurice Obstfeld |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Emmanuel Saez |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Extensive unemployment ins. empirical evidence not able to show such wage effects. This is a much bigger experiment that we will learn from.
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Larry Samuelson |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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It will be difficult to distinguish this effect from the effect of looming inflation.
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José Scheinkman |
Columbia University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Higher UI increases workers bargaining position and also allows searching for better matches. Not sure about economically meaningful amount.
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Richard Schmalensee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Carl Shapiro |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Robert Shimer |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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There is no evidence that higher UI raises reemployment wages (perhaps surprisingly)
-see background information here |
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James Stock |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Richard Thaler |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Christopher Udry |
Northwestern | Bio/Vote History | ||
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