ABSTRACT
From the social point of view there is a strong case for a lengthy normal benefit period in unemployment Insurance, in order to reduce to a minimum the number of cases of benefit exhaustion under the scheme. In full employment conditions, unemployment Insurance is to operate in a rather uneven and repetitive manner, to the benefit of a relatively narrow and specialised minority of the insured population. The basic requirements of the social objective are the provision of a generous level of benefits related to the previous earnings of the unemployed for the duration of the unemployment. The high level of benefits advocated on grounds of the social objective may encourage labour mobility where the loss of income in the period of unemployment arising from job-change presents an obstacle to the change. The relationship between unemployment Insurance and redundancy compensation is such that neither requires concessions to the objectives of the other.
