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Parental Leave, Household Specialization and Children's Well-Being

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  • Canaan, Serena

    (Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

Many countries offer new parents long periods of paid leave. Proponents argue that parental leave programs can reduce gender gaps in the labor market, support marital stability and promote children's well-being. In this paper, I show that lengthy leaves can instead work against several of these intended goals. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that a 3-year expansion of paid leave in France increases household specialization by inducing mothers to exit the labor force and fathers to raise their work hours. The leave further discourages marriages among cohabiting couples and harms children's verbal development.

Suggested Citation

  • Canaan, Serena, 2019. "Parental Leave, Household Specialization and Children's Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 12420, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12420
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    Cited by:

    1. Alena Bicakova & Klara Kaliskova, 2022. "Is Longer Maternal Care Always Beneficial? The Impact of a Four-year Paid Parental Leave," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp732, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    2. Sarah H. Bana & Kelly Bedard & Maya Rossin‐Slater, 2020. "The Impacts of Paid Family Leave Benefits: Regression Kink Evidence from California Administrative Data," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 888-929, September.
    3. Persson, Petra & Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2019. "When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers' Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health," IZA Discussion Papers 12386, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Elira Kuka & Na'ama Shenhav, 2020. "Long-Run Effects of Incentivizing Work After Childbirth," NBER Working Papers 27444, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. 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.
    6. Marc Jourdain Muizon, 2020. "Subsidies for parental leave and formal childcare: be careful what you wish for," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 735-772, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    marriage; household specialization; parental leave; child development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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