Using the eye of the storm to predict the wave of Covid-19 UI claims /

We leverage an event-study research design focused on the seven costliest hurricanes to hit the US mainland since 2004 to identify the elasticity of unemployment insurance filings with respect to search intensity. Applying our elasticity estimate to the state-level Google Trends indexes for the topi...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Aaronson, Daniel
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Chicago, Il. : Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 2020
Series:Working papers ; no. 10
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/working-papers/2020/2020-10
Description
Summary:We leverage an event-study research design focused on the seven costliest hurricanes to hit the US mainland since 2004 to identify the elasticity of unemployment insurance filings with respect to search intensity. Applying our elasticity estimate to the state-level Google Trends indexes for the topic “unemployment,” we show that out-of-sample forecasts made ahead of the official data releases for March 21 and 28 predicted to a large degree the extent of the Covid-19 related surge in the demand for unemployment insurance. In addition, we provide a robust assessment of the uncertainty surrounding these estimates and demonstrate their use within a broader forecasting framework for US economic activity.
Physical Description:1 recurso en línea (19 p.)