Liu Junqiang: Policy Drift, Conversion and Layering: A Longitudinal Investigation on the Formation Mechanism of Surpluses of Unemployment Insurance in China
Policy Drift, Conversion and Layering: A Longitudinal Investigation on the Formation Mechanism of Surpluses of Unemployment Insurance in China
Journal of Management World, 2022 Issue 6
[Abstract]
The unemployment insurance (UI) fund has made a great contribution to alleviating the employment pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but its high surplus rate and low recipiency rate are chronic problems, indicating that UI performance has yet to be improved. This study examined several mechanisms that lead to the huge surpluses of UI: (1) Policy drift: restrictions on expenditure and low replacement rate of unemployment benefits keep fund inflow high but outflow low, and consequently UI fund cannot be fully transformed into benefits. (2) Policy conversion: as a minor insurance scheme, UI was undermined in the frontline operation which is manifested with lower coverage, and restrictions for receiving unemployment benefits. (3) Policy layering: UI overlaps with employment funds and the Minimum Living Standard Security. Fundamentally, the inconsistence between labor market and UI created risk-protection mismatch: high risk groups are inadequately insured while low risk groups are highly insured. Those findings contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of Chinese social policy and the redistribution of risk and protection, which can help to improve UI's roles in protecting the jobless and coping with business cycle.
