Macroeconomics 1st Edition by Dean Karlan,Jonathan Morduch

Exercise 8

Understanding that unemployment benefits give workers the incentive to not look for work until their benefits run out, suppose an economist suggested that instead of giving workers up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits that end once the person finds work, a person who loses his or her job would just get a single big check for 26 weeks of benefits, regardless of how long the worker is unemployed. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this idea?