IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp13756.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Work Disability after Motherhood and How Paternity Leave Can Help

Author

Listed:
  • Fontenay, Sébastien

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Tojerow, Ilan

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Abstract

We study how childbirth increases the likelihood of young, working mothers to claim disability insurance and how paternity leave could ease this effect. Our event study analysis uses Belgian data to show that the incidence rate of disability across gender only diverges after first-time childbirth. This "other child penalty" can be reduced with the provision of paternity leave. Our regression discontinuity difference-in-differences design shows that mothers with partners eligible for a two-week-long paternity leave spent on average 21% fewer days on disability over twelve years. Moreover, we show links between this incidence of paternity leave and consequent birth-spacing decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fontenay, Sébastien & Tojerow, Ilan, 2020. "Work Disability after Motherhood and How Paternity Leave Can Help," IZA Discussion Papers 13756, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13756
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp13756.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeppe Druedahl & Alessandro Martinello, 2022. "Long-Run Saving Dynamics: Evidence from Unexpected Inheritances," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(5), pages 1079-1095, December.
    2. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1980. "Life-Cycle Labor Supply and Fertility: Causal Inferences from Household Models," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 328-348, April.
    3. Rafael Lalive & Analía Schlosser & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2014. "Parental Leave and Mothers' Careers: The Relative Importance of Job Protection and Cash Benefits," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(1), pages 219-265.
    4. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    5. Ankita Patnaik, 2019. "Reserving Time for Daddy: The Consequences of Fathers’ Quotas," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(4), pages 1009-1059.
    6. Itzik Fadlon & Torben Heien Nielsen, 2019. "Family Health Behaviors," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3162-3191, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    9. Persson, Petra & Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2019. "When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers’ Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health," Working Paper Series 1284, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    10. Farré, Lídia & González, Libertad, 2019. "Does paternity leave reduce fertility?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 52-66.
    11. Jonathan Guryan & Erik Hurst & Melissa Kearney, 2008. "Parental Education and Parental Time with Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 23-46, Summer.
    12. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    13. Tamm, Marcus, 2019. "Fathers’ parental leave-taking, childcare involvement and labor market participation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 184-197.
    14. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Johanna Posch & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2019. "Child Penalties across Countries: Evidence and Explanations," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 122-126, May.
    15. Elisabeth Ugreninov, 2013. "Can Family Policy Reduce Mothers’ Sick Leave Absence? A Causal Analysis of the Norwegian Paternity Leave Reform," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 435-446, December.
    16. 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.
    17. Christian Neumeier & Todd Sørensen & Douglas Webber, 2018. "The Implicit Costs of Motherhood over the Lifecycle: Cross‐Cohort Evidence from Administrative Longitudinal Data," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(3), pages 716-733, January.
    18. Druedahl, Jeppe & Ejrnæs, Mette & Jørgensen, Thomas H., 2019. "Earmarked paternity leave and the relative income within couples," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 85-88.
    19. Persson, Petra & Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2019. "When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers’ Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health," CEPR Discussion Papers 13780, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Nikolay Angelov & Per Johansson & Erica Lindahl, 2020. "Sick of family responsibilities?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 777-814, February.
    21. Emily Nix & Martin Eckhoff Andresen, 2019. "What Causes the Child Penalty? Evidence from Same Sex Couples and Policy Reforms," Discussion Papers 902, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    22. Sara Cools & Jon H. Fiva & Lars J. Kirkebøen, 2015. "Causal Effects of Paternity Leave on Children and Parents," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(3), pages 801-828, July.
    23. Petter Lundborg & Erik Plug & Astrid Würtz Rasmussen, 2017. "Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1611-1637, June.
    24. Carlos Dobkin & Amy Finkelstein & Raymond Kluender & Matthew J. Notowidigdo, 2018. "The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(2), pages 308-352, February.
    25. Ekberg, John & Eriksson, Rickard & Friebel, Guido, 2013. "Parental leave — A policy evaluation of the Swedish “Daddy-Month” reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 131-143.
    26. Kenneth Troske & Alexandru Voicu, 2013. "The effect of the timing and spacing of births on the level of labor market involvement of married women," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 483-521, August.
    27. Joanna R. Pepin & Liana C. Sayer & Lynne M. Casper, 2018. "Marital Status and Mothers’ Time Use: Childcare, Housework, Leisure, and Sleep," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 107-133, February.
    28. Bronars, Stephen G & Grogger, Jeff, 1994. "The Economic Consequences of Unwed Motherhood: Using Twin Births as a Natural Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1141-1156, December.
    29. Arna Olafsson & Herdis Steingrimsdottir, 2020. "How Does Daddy at Home Affect Marital Stability?," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(629), pages 1471-1500.
    30. Angrist, Joshua D & Evans, William N, 1998. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 450-477, June.
    31. Ilan Tojerow & Octave De Brouwer, 2018. "Quels sont les déterminants des disparités géographiques de taux d'invalidité en Belgique ?," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/340663, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    32. David H. Autor & Mark G. Duggan, 2006. "The Growth in the Social Security Disability Rolls: A Fiscal Crisis Unfolding," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(3), pages 71-96, Summer.
    33. Karimi, Arizo, 2014. "Effects of the timing of births on women's earnings - evidence from a natural experiment," Working Paper Series 2014:17, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    34. Ann-Zofie Duvander & Trude Lappegard & Mats Johansson, 2020. "Impact of a Reform Towards Shared Parental Leave on Continued Fertility in Norway and Sweden," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(6), pages 1205-1229, December.
    35. Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2015. "Understanding the Increase in Disability Insurance Benefit Receipt in the United States," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(2), pages 123-150, Spring.
    36. Lyn Craig, 2007. "How Employed Mothers in Australia Find Time for Both Market Work and Childcare," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 69-87, March.
    37. Allison Dunatchik & Berkay Özcan, 2019. "Reducing Mommy Penalties with Daddy Quotas," CASE Papers /213, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    38. Mari Rege & Ingeborg Solli, 2013. "The Impact of Paternity Leave on Fathers’ Future Earnings," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(6), pages 2255-2277, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dehos, Fabian & Paul, Marie & Schäfer, Wiebke & Süß, Karolin, 2024. "Time of change: Health effects of motherhood," Ruhr Economic Papers 1079, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Chuard, Caroline, 2023. "Negative effects of long parental leave on maternal health: Evidence from a substantial policy change in Austria," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Sébastien Fontenay & Ilan Tojerow, 2025. "Sickness absences among young mothers and the child penalty in employment," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 625-660, June.
    4. Fontenay, Sébastien & Tojerow, Ilan, 2022. "How Does Job Coaching Help Disability Insurance Recipients Work While on Claim?," IZA Discussion Papers 15386, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Barschkett, M.; & Bosque-Mercader, L.;, 2024. "Building Health across Generations: Childbirth, Childcare and Maternal Health," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 24/08, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Céline Piton, 2022. "The labour market performance of vulnerable groups: towards a better understanding of the main driving forces," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/352519, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

    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. Høgholm Jørgensen, Thomas & Egholt Søgaard, Jakob, 2024. "The division of parental leave: Empirical evidence and policy design," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    2. Emily Nix & Martin Eckhoff Andresen, 2019. "What Causes the Child Penalty? Evidence from Same Sex Couples and Policy Reforms," Discussion Papers 902, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    3. Sébastien Fontenay & Ilan Tojerow, 2025. "Sickness absences among young mothers and the child penalty in employment," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 625-660, June.
    4. Dahl, Gordon & Loken, Katrine V., 2024. "Families, public policies, and the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    5. Rosenqvist, Olof, 2022. "Reducing the gender gap in parental leave through economic incentives? – Evidence from the gender equality bonus in Sweden," Working Paper Series 2022:22, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    6. Ziegler, Lennart & Bamieh, Omar, 2023. "What Drives Paternity Leave: Financial Incentives or Flexibility?," IZA Discussion Papers 15890, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Patrick Schneider & Lídia Farré & Libertad González, 2022. "Changing Gender Norms across Generations: Evidence from a Paternity Leave Reform," Working Papers 1310, Barcelona School of Economics.
    8. Rosenqvist, Olof, 2024. "Reducing the gender gap in parental leave through economic incentives? – Evidence from the gender equality bonus in Sweden," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Gordon Dahl & Katrine Loken, 2024. "Families, Public Policies, and the Labor Market," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2423, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    10. Thomas Høgholm Jørgensen & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2021. "Welfare Reforms and the Division of Parental Leave," CESifo Working Paper Series 9035, CESifo.
    11. Korsgren, Pontus & van Lent, Max, 2022. "Earmarked Paternity Leave and Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 15022, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Corekcioglu, Gozde & Francesconi, Marco & Kunze, Astrid, 2024. "Expansions in paid parental leave and mothers’ economic progress," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    13. Chuard, Caroline, 2023. "Negative effects of long parental leave on maternal health: Evidence from a substantial policy change in Austria," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. 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).
    15. Olivetti, Claudia & Pan, Jessica & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2024. "The evolution of gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    16. Regmi, Krishna & Wang, Le, 2022. "Maternity Leave," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1184, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    17. 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.
    18. Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & Mata, Dolores de la & Edo, María & Marchionni, Mariana, 2021. "Gender gaps in labor informality: The motherhood effect," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    19. Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz & Maxime Tô, 2024. "Can Daddies Learn to Care for Babies? The Effect of A Short Paternity Leave on the Division of Childcare and Housework," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(3), pages 1-48, June.
    20. Danielle Sandler & Nichole Szembrot, 2019. "Maternal Labor Dynamics: Participation, Earnings, and Employer Changes," Working Papers 19-33, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    disability insurance; gender; child penalty; paternity leave; maternal health; birth spacing; natural experiment; regression discontinuity; event study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

    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:iza:izadps:dp13756. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.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.