Authors

Till von Wachter

Professor of Economics

University of California Los Angeles

TILL VON WACHTER is Professor of Economics at the University of California Los Angeles, Faculty Director of the California Policy Lab, Director of the Federal Statistical Research Data Center, and Associate Dean for Research for the Social Science Division. Prof. von Wachter’s research examines how labor market conditions and institutions affect the well-being of workers and their families. This includes the analysis of unemployment and job loss on workers’ long-term earnings and health outcomes, as well as the role of unemployment insurance and disability insurance in buffering such shocks. Current research projects focus on job and earnings mobility of young workers over their careers, the effects of minimum wages, as well as several projects on homelessness using administrative data from Los Angeles. Professor von Wachter’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute on Aging, the Social Security Administration, the Sloan Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Hilton Foundation, and Arnold Ventures. Prof. von Wachter has been an expert witness in numerous testimonies before committees of U.S. Congress, and has provided expert assistance to the City and County of Los Angeles, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Canadian Labor Ministry, the OECD, the United Nations, and the IMF.

Publications

Data-Driven Opportunities to Scale Reemployment Opportunities and Social Insurance for Unemployed Workers During the Recovery

Job loss during recessions can have long-lasting, negative consequences for workers and their families. In particular, long-term unemployment—and the associated exhaustion of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits—is associated with sustained income loss and increases in poverty. Workers who are less-educated, racial and ethnic minorities, younger, and female are especially at risk of economic hardship and adverse ...