Replication data for: Is Social Policy ‘Popularly Demanded’? Explaining Variation in American Unemployment Insurance Generosity

Why is there so much variation in the generosity of social benefits across different governments? In this paper we evaluate explanations for variation in unemployment insurance (UI) generosity premised on the importance of interest groups as well as explanations premised on individual preferences and behavior. We do this by studying the sources of variation in UI generosity within the United States. Our findings cast doubt on existing explanations premised on individual preferences at both the micro level, using national survey data, and the macro level, using a new dataset of state-level economic outcomes, social policies, and political institutions from 1991 to 2007. Rather, our macro level findings support explanations premised on employer interests in social policy. Specifically we find that the skill profile of a state – the share of workers in highly skilled occupations – is a substantively important determinant of variation in UI generosity over time within states.