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How policy matters: Germany’s parental leave benefit reform and fathers’ behavior 1999-2009

Author

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  • Esther Geisler

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Michaela R. Kreyenfeld

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

In 2007, Germany enacted a radical new parental leave benefit scheme that grants parents 67 percent of their previous income, and includes two “daddy months.” In this paper, we use data from the German Microcensus for the period 1999 to 2009 to explore how this reform has changed fathers’ use of parental leave. We find strong overall increase in parental leave usage among men. Two groups of men in particular changed their behavior: highly educated men and fathers who are on fixed-term employment contracts.

Suggested Citation

  • Esther Geisler & Michaela R. Kreyenfeld, 2012. "How policy matters: Germany’s parental leave benefit reform and fathers’ behavior 1999-2009," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2012-021, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2012-021
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2012-021
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Trude Lappegard, 2008. "Changing the Gender Balance in Caring: Fatherhood and the Division of Parental Leave in Norway," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(2), pages 139-159, April.
    2. Spiess, C.Katharina & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2008. "The Parental Leave Benefit Reform in Germany: Costs and Labour Market Outcomes of Moving towards the Nordic Model," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27, pages 575-591.
    3. Simon Duncan & Rosalind Edwards, 1997. "Lone Mothers and Paid Work - Rational Economic Man or Gendered Moral Rationalities?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 29-61.
    4. Esping-Andersen, Gosta, 1999. "Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198742005.
    5. Kathleen Harris & Frank Furstenberg & Jeremy Marmer, 1998. "Paternal involvement with adolescents in intact families: The influence of fathers over the life course," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(2), pages 201-216, May.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Miriam Maeder, 2014. "Earnings-related parental leave benefits and subjective well-being of young mothers: evidence from a German parental leave reform," Working Papers 148, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    2. Cygan-Rehm, Kamila, 2013. "Earnings-Dependent Parental Leave Benefit and Fertility: Evidence from Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 80021, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Unterhofer, Ulrike & Wrohlich, Katharina, 2017. "Fathers, Parental Leave and Gender Norms," IZA Discussion Papers 10712, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Chidambaram, Bhuvanachithra & Scheiner, Joachim, 2020. "Understanding relative commuting within dual-earner couples in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 113-129.
    5. Wrohlich, Katharina & Unterhofer, Ulrike, 2017. "External Effects of 'Daddy Months': How Fathers' Parental Leave Changes Social Norms," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168297, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Kamila Cygan-Rehm, 2016. "Parental leave benefit and differential fertility responses: evidence from a German reform," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 73-103, January.
    7. Katrin Huber, 2015. "Moving to an earnings-related parental leave system – do heterogeneous effects on parents make some children worse off?," Working Papers 160, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    8. Cygan-Rehm, Kamila & Kuehnle, Daniel & Riphahn, Regina T., 2018. "Paid parental leave and families’ living arrangements," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 182-197.
    9. Holger Stichnoth, 2020. "Short-run fertility effects of parental leave benefits: evidence from a structural model," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 143-168, July.
    10. Katrin Huber, 2019. "Changes in parental leave and young children’s non-cognitive skills," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 89-119, March.
    11. Abrahamsen, Signe A., 2018. "Paternity Leave and Family Outcomes," Working Papers in Economics 13/18, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    12. Kamila Cygan-Rehm & Daniel Kühnle & Regina T. Riphahn, 2017. "Love your Leave, Don't Leave your Love! Paid Parental Leave and Children's Living Arrangements," CESifo Working Paper Series 6319, CESifo.
    13. Volker Meier & Helmut Rainer, 2017. "Daddy months," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 875-892, July.
    14. Scheiner, Joachim, 2014. "Gendered key events in the life course: effects on changes in travel mode choice over time," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 47-60.
    15. Dunatchik, Allison & Özcan, Berkay, 2019. "Reducing mommy penalties with daddy quotas," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103461, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Rannveig K. Hart & Synøve N. Andersen & Nina Drange, 2019. "Effects of extended paternity leave on union stability and fertility," Discussion Papers 899, Statistics Norway, Research Department.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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