IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bge/wpaper/1455.html

Paternity Leave in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela
  • Claudia Hupkau
  • Lídia Farré
  • Libertad González

Abstract

Between 2017 and 2021, Spain progressively extended paternity leave from 2 to 16 weeks, equalizing it with maternity leave and introducing mandatory weeks. A 2018 reform also allowed fathers to split their leave. Using administrative data on all leave permits since 2016, we analyze trends in paternity leave take-up. Following the introduction of mandatory leave, the share of fathers taking leave increased by around 20 percentage points, and most now use nearly the full entitlement. The share opting to split leave has steadily grown, surpassing 50% by 2023. However, this behavior shows marked heterogeneity: while overall uptake is uniform across groups, leave-splitting is far more common among higher-income fathers and more prevalent in certain sec- tors. Spain's experience illustrates how policy design can significantly increase paternity leave usage, though workplace flexibility and income-related constraints shape how fathers use that time.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela & Claudia Hupkau & Lídia Farré & Libertad González, 2024. "Paternity Leave in Spain," Working Papers 1455, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1455
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://bw.bse.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1455.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Engel, Katherine & Marcotte, Dave E., 2024. "Baby bump? Birth month, family income, and early childhood development," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman & Duncan Ermini Leaf & María José Prados, 2017. "Quantifying the Life-cycle Benefits of a Prototypical Early Childhood Program," NBER Working Papers 23479, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    4. Stearns, Jenna, 2015. "The effects of paid maternity leave: Evidence from Temporary Disability Insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 85-102.
    5. Kasey S. Buckles & Daniel M. Hungerman, 2013. "Season of Birth and Later Outcomes: Old Questions, New Answers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(3), pages 711-724, July.
    6. Hupkau, Claudia & Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer, 2022. "Work and children in Spain: challenges and opportunities for equality between men and women," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112541, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Sébastien Fontenay & Libertad González Luna, 2024. "Can Public Policies Break the Gender Mold? Evidence from Paternity Leave Reforms in Six Countries," Economics Working Papers 1879, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    8. Sébastien Fontenay & Libertad González, 2024. "Can Public Policies Break the Gender Mold? Evidence from Paternity Leave Reforms," Working Papers 1422, Barcelona School of Economics.
    9. Costas Meghir & Orazio Attanasio & Sarah Cattan, 2022. "Early Childhood Development, Human Capital, and Poverty," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 853-892, August.
    10. Daniel Avdic & Arizo Karimi, 2018. "Modern Family? Paternity Leave and Marital Stability," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 283-307, October.
    11. Maya Rossin-Slater, 2017. "Maternity and Family Leave Policy," NBER Working Papers 23069, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The long-run impacts of paid maternity leave on height and educational attainment," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.
    13. Baker, Michael & Milligan, Kevin, 2008. "Maternal employment, breastfeeding, and health: Evidence from maternity leave mandates," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 871-887, July.
    14. Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2017. "Maternity and Family Leave Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 10500, IZA Network @ LISER.
    15. Felfe, Christina & Lalive, Rafael, 2018. "Does early child care affect children's development?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 33-53.
    16. Canaan, Serena & Lassen, Anne Sophie & Rosenbaum, Philip & Steingrimsdottir, Herdis, 2022. "Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave: Evidence on the Economic Impact of Legislative Changes in High Income Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 15129, IZA Network @ LISER.
    17. Claudia Hupkau & Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, 2022. "Work and children in Spain: challenges and opportunities for equality between men and women," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 243-268, May.
    18. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Farré, Lídia & González, Libertad & Hupkau, Claudia & Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer, 2024. "Paternity leave and child development," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126799, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Lídia Farré & Libertad González & Claudia Hupkau & Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, 2025. "Paternity Leave and Child Development," Working Papers 1487, Barcelona School of Economics.
    3. Rita Ginja & Jenny Jans & Arizo Karimi, 2017. "Parental Investments in Early Life and Child Outcomes: Evidence from Swedish Parental Leave Rules," Working Papers 2017-085, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    4. Rita Ginja & Jenny Jans & Arizo Karimi, 2020. "Parental Leave Benefits, Household Labor Supply, and Children’s Long-Run Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 261-320.
    5. Sébastien Fontenay & Libertad González, 2025. "When Fathers Step In: Long-Term Consequences of Early Paternal Involvement," Working Papers 1542, Barcelona School of Economics.
    6. Huebener, Mathias & Kuehnle, Daniel & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2019. "Parental leave policies and socio-economic gaps in child development: Evidence from a substantial benefit reform using administrative data," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 61.
    7. Avdic, Daniel & Karimi, Arizo & Sjögren, Anna & Sundberg, Elin, 2023. "Paternity leave and child outcomes," Working Paper Series 2023:25, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    8. Chuard, Caroline, 2020. "Womb at work: The missing impact of maternal employment on newborn health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Fabel, Marc, 2021. "Maternity leave and children's health outcomes in the long-term," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Baertsch, Laurenz & Sandner, Malte, 2025. "Reducing the child penalty by incentivizing maternal part-time work?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    11. Bailey, Martha J. & Byker, Tanya & Patel, Elena & Ramnath, Shanthi, 2019. "The Long-Term Effects of California’s 2004 Paid Family Leave Act on Women’s Careers: Evidence from U.S. Tax Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 14217, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Samantha Trajkovski, 2019. "California Paid Family Leave and Parental Time Use," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 217, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    13. Sébastien Fontenay & Libertad González Luna, 2025. "When fathers step in: Long-term consequences of early paternal involvement," Economics Working Papers 1934, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    14. Benjamin Bennett & Isil Erel & Léa H. Stern & Zexi Wang, 2020. "Paid Leave Pays Off: The Effects of Paid Family Leave on Firm Performance," NBER Working Papers 27788, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Sevrin Waights, 2022. "Parental Leave Benefits and Child Penalties," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2016, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Bass Brittany, 2020. "Does an Introduction of a Paid Parental Leave Policy Affect Maternal Labor Market Outcomes in the Short Run? Evidence from Australia’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, March.
    17. Wookun Kim, 2020. "Baby Bonus, Fertility, and Missing Women," Departmental Working Papers 2011, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    18. Houmark, Mikkel Aagaard & Jørgensen, Cecilie Marie Løchte & Kristiansen, Ida Lykke & Gensowski, Miriam, 2024. "Effects of extending paid parental leave on children’s socio-emotional skills and well-being in adolescence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    19. Mette Goertz & Vibeke Myrup Jensen & Sarah Sander, 2023. "Daycare Enrollment Age and Child Development," CEBI working paper series 22-26, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    20. Elizabeth L. Doran & Ann P. Bartel & Jane Waldfogel, 2018. "Gender in the Labor Market: The Role of Equal Opportunity and Family-Friendly Policies," NBER Working Papers 25378, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1455. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bruno Guallar (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bargses.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.