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The Impact of Provincial Maternity and Parental Leave Policies on Employment Rates of Women with Young Children in Canada

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  • Adrienne ten Cate

Abstract

Maternity and parental leave policies are on the forefront of the current political agenda in Canada. This paper answers the question: does maternity and parental leave (M/PL) policy raise or lower the probability of employment for a woman? One unique feature of M/PL policy in Canada is the variation in mandated unpaid job-protected leave allowances across provinces. This variation is used in this study to identify the effect of provincial M/PL policies on employment rates of women with young children. Using the Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from 1976 to 2000, I find evidence that M/PL policy reduces the gap between the employment probabilities of women with young children versus women with older children. Moreover, a difference-in-differences model predicts a 3 to 4 percent increase in the probability of employment for women with young children (aged 0 to 2) relative to women with older children as a result of M/PL policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Adrienne ten Cate, 2003. "The Impact of Provincial Maternity and Parental Leave Policies on Employment Rates of Women with Young Children in Canada," Department of Economics Working Papers 2003-03, McMaster University.
    • Handle: RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2003-03
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shelley Phipps & Peter Burton & Lynn Lethbridge, 2001. "In and out of the labour market: long‐term income consequences of child‐related interruptions to women's paid work," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 411-429, May.
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    6. Christopher J. Ruhm, 1998. "The Economic Consequences of Parental Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 285-317.
    7. Yoshio Higuchi & Jane Waldfogel & Masahiro Abe, 1999. "Family leave policies and women's retention after childbirth: Evidence from the United States, Britain, and Japan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 12(4), pages 523-545.
    8. Shelley A. Phipps, 2000. "Maternity and Parental Benefits in Canada: Are there Behavioural Implications?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 26(4), pages 415-436, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jerome De Henau & Daniele Meulders & Sile O'Dorchai, 2010. "Maybe Baby: Comparing Partnered Women's Employment and Child Policies in the EU-15," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 43-77.
    2. Jérôme De Henau & Danièle Meulders & Sile Padraigin O'Dorchai, 2006. "The comparative effectiveness of public policies to fight motherhood-induced employment penalties and decreasing fertility in the former EU-15," DULBEA Working Papers 0026, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Federico Podestà, 2014. "The Impact of the 'Free Choice' Work/Family Reforms of France and Belgium. A Synthetic Control Analysis," FBK-IRVAPP Working Papers 2014-06, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (IRVAPP), Bruno Kessler Foundation.
    4. Raquel Bernal & Adriana Camacho & Carmen Elisa Flórez & Alejandro Gaviria, 2009. "Desarrollo económico: retos y políticas públicas," Documentos CEDE 5269, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    5. Michael Baker & Kevin Milligan, 2005. "How Does Job-Protected Maternity Leave Affect Mothers' Employment and Infant Health?," NBER Working Papers 11135, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Zhang, Xuelin, 2008. "The Post-childbirth Employment of Canadian Mothers and the Earnings Trajectories of Their Continuously Employed Counterparts, 1983 to 2004," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2008314e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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