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The effects of family policy on maternal labor supply: Combining evidence from a structural model and a quasi-experimental approach

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  • Geyer, Johannes
  • Haan, Peter
  • Wrohlich, Katharina

Abstract

Parental leave and subsidized child care are prominent examples of family policies supporting the reconciliation of family life and labor market careers for mothers. In this paper, we combine different empirical strategies to evaluate the employment effects of these policies for mothers with young children. In particular we estimate a structural labor supply model and exploit quasi-experimental variation from a parental leave reform in Germany. Our findings suggest that a combination of parental leave benefits and subsidized child care leads to sizable employment effects of mothers.

Suggested Citation

  • Geyer, Johannes & Haan, Peter & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2015. "The effects of family policy on maternal labor supply: Combining evidence from a structural model and a quasi-experimental approach," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 84-98.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:36:y:2015:i:c:p:84-98
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2015.07.001
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor supply; Parental leave benefits; Childcare costs; Structural model; Natural experiment; Quasi-experimental approach;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection

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