Book Review

Reemployment Bonuses in the Unemployment Insurance System: Evidence from Three Field Experiments examines the timely issue of structuring unemployment insurance (hereinafter "UT") systems so that unemployed individuals will return to desirable jobs. Specifically, the book evaluates experiments conducted in the mid-to-late 1980's in three states (Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington) that sought to find the impact of receiving cash bonuses (hereinafter "reemployment bonuses") on the duration of unemployment and the quality of the job upon reemployment.! Based on their evaluation of these three experiments, the authors conclude that the bonus experiments did reduce the length of time people remained unemployed, but that the cost of paying bonuses usually exceeded the benefits that came with reducing payments out of the Ul systems. 2