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Who Cares? Paid Sick Leave Mandates, Care-Giving, and Gender

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Abstract

We use employment data from the Current Population Survey to assess the efficacy of state-mandated paid sick leave policies on leave-taking behavior with a focus on any variation by gender. We find that these policies increase leave taking for care-giving for men by 10-20%, and this effect is strongest for men with young children in the household. In addition, we find that Hispanic men and men without a bachelor’s degree, who historically have had low access to paid sick leave, are 20–25% more likely to take care-giving leave. By comparison, we do not find evidence that these policies affect leave taking for own sickness for men or women, nor do we find evidence that these policies affect care-giving leave taking for women. Our evidence highlights the importance of studying care-giving leave within the context of paid leave policies and the importance of considering gender differences in the treatment effect within this context.

Suggested Citation

  • Tanya Byker & Elena Patel & Shanthi Ramnath, 2023. "Who Cares? Paid Sick Leave Mandates, Care-Giving, and Gender," Working Paper Series WP 2023-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhwp:96037
    DOI: 10.21033/wp-2023-14
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Landais, Camille & Kleven, Henrik & Posch, Johanna & Steinhauer, Andreas & Zweimüller, Josef, 2020. "Do Family Policies Reduce Gender Inequality? Evidence from 60 Years of Policy Experimentation," CEPR Discussion Papers 15437, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    3. Ahn, Thomas & Yelowitz, Aaron, 2016. "Paid Sick Leave and Absenteeism: The First Evidence from the U.S," MPRA Paper 69794, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard & Jenna Stearns, 2018. "Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(9), pages 2420-2441, September.
    5. Stearns, Jenna & White, Corey, 2018. "Can paid sick leave mandates reduce leave-taking?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 227-246.
    6. Jonathan Guryan & Erik Hurst & Melissa Kearney, 2008. "Parental Education and Parental Time with Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 23-46, Summer.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Paid Sick Leave; care-giving leave; Gender; leave taking; career;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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