TY - RPRT AU - Parsons, Donald O. TI - The Firing Cost Implications of Alternative Severance Pay Designs PY - 2010/May/ PB - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) CY - Bonn T2 - IZA Discussion Paper IS - 4967 UR - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp4967 AB - Economists have concerns about the firing cost implications of mandated severance plans. Analysis reveals that predicted severance plan consequences depend critically on the precise structure of the plan. Whether governments mandate (i) severance insurance plans or (ii) severance savings plans is important; savings plans have no "firing cost" effects on employer layoff decisions. The firing cost implications of insurance plan are sensitive to the types of job separations that qualify a worker for benefits. Plans that pay benefits across all separations are functionally severance savings plans. The variety of plan types is illustrated using U.S. and international examples. KW - severance pay KW - worker turnover KW - job displacement KW - firing costs ER -