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The Effect of Expansions in Maternity Leave Coverage on Children's Long-Term Outcomes

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Author Info
Dustmann, Christian () (University College London)
Schönberg, Uta () (University College London)

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Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of three major expansions in leave coverage in Germany on the long-run education and labor market outcomes of children. Evaluation of three policy reforms as opposed to a single reform enables us to analyze whether the impact of paid leave differs from that of unpaid leave, and whether an expansion of a relatively short leave period is more beneficial to child development than an expansion of an already long leave period. Our empirical analysis combines two large administrative data sources on wages, unemployment, and school outcomes. We identify the causal impact of the reforms by comparing outcomes of children born shortly before and shortly after a change in maternity leave legislation, and therefore require substantially weaker assumptions for identification than existing studies. We find little support for the hypothesis that an expansion in maternity leave legislation improves children’s outcomes. Given the precision of our estimates, we can statistically rule out the hypothesis that the expansion in paid leave from 2 to 6 (unpaid leave from 18 to 36) months raised wages (attendance at high track schools) by more than 0.3 % (0.1 %).

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3605.

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Date of creation: Jul 2008
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3605

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Related research
Keywords: child development; maternity leave;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. John Ekberg & Rickard Eriksson & Guido Friebel, 2005. "Parental Leave - A Policy Evaluation of the Swedish "Daddy-Month" Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 1617, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Raquel Bernal, 2008. "The Effect Of Maternal Employment And Child Care On Children'S Cognitive Development," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1173-1209, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Gordon Dahl & Lance Lochner, 2008. "The Impact of Family Income on Child Achievement: Evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit," NBER Working Papers 14599, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Michael Baker & Kevin S. Milligan, 2007. "Maternal employment, breastfeeding, and health: Evidence from maternity leave mandates," NBER Working Papers 13188, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Kelly Bedard & Elizabeth Dhuey, 2006. "The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity: International Evidence of Long-Run Age Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 121(4), pages 1437-1472, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Peter Fredriksson & Björn Öckert, 2005. "Is Early Learning Really More Productive? The Effect of School Starting Age on School and Labor Market Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 1659, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Puhani, Patrick A. & Weber, Andrea M., 2006. "Does the Early Bird Catch the Worm? Instrumental Variable Estimates of Educational Effects of Age of School Entry in Germany," Diskussionspapiere der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Hannover dp-332, Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development," NBER Working Papers 7666, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Michael Baker & Kevin Milligan, 2008. "Evidence From Maternity Leave Expansions of the Impact of Maternal Care on Early Child Development," NBER Working Papers 13826, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Blau, Francine D & Grossberg, Adam J, 1992. "Maternal Labor Supply and Children's Cognitive Development," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(3), pages 474-81, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Michael Baker & Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan, 2005. "Universal Childcare, Maternal Labor Supply, and Family Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 11832, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Joshua S. Gans & Andrew Leigh, 2006. "Born on the First of July: An (Un)natural Experiment in Birth Timing," CEPR Discussion Papers 529, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Charles L. Baum II, 2003. "Does Early Maternal Employment Harm Child Development? An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Leave Taking," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 381-408, April. [Downloadable!]
  14. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2000. "Parental leave and child health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 931-960, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Schönberg, Uta, 2008. "Does the IABS reliably identify maternity leave taking?," FDZ Methodenreport 200803_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]. [Downloadable!]
  16. Lisa Barrow, 1998. "An analysis of women's return-to-work decisions following first birth," Working Paper Series WP-98-9, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  17. Alan B. Krueger, 1999. "Experimental Estimates Of Education Production Functions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 114(2), pages 497-532, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Paul Gregg & Elizabeth Washbrook & Carol Propper & Simon Burgess, 2005. "The Effects of a Mother's Return to Work Decision on Child Development in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(501), pages F48-F80, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2004. "Maternal Employment and Adolescent Development," NBER Working Papers 10691, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  20. Rafael Lalive & Josef Zweimüller, . "Does Parental Leave Affect Fertility and Return-to-Work? Evidence from a ”True Natural Experiment”," IEW - Working Papers iewwp242, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  21. Eliana Garces & Duncan Thomas & Janet Currie, 2000. "Longer Term Effects of Head Start," NBER Working Papers 8054, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  22. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2004. "Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(1). [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Thomas, D. & Currie, J., 1993. "Does Head Start Make a Difference?," Papers 694, Yale - Economic Growth Center.
    Other versions:
  24. Uta Schönberg & Johannes Ludsteck, 2007. "Maternity Leave Legislation, Female Labor Supply, and the Family Wage Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 2699, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Hörisch, Hannah, 2008. "Does parental employment affect children's educational attainment?," Discussion Papers in Economics 2140, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Katrin Sommerfeld, 2008. "Older Babies - More Active Mothers?: How Maternal Labor Supply Changes as the Child Grows," SOEPpapers 143, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
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