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The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Family-Friendly Policies on Mothers' Employment

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Listed:
  • De Quinto, Alicia

    (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

  • González, Libertad

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Abstract

Countries often encourage part-time work among new parents as part of their family policies, aiming to foster mothers' labor market attachment. However, this approach may unintentionally impede women's long-term career prospects. We examine the impact of a 1999 Spanish reform that allowed parents to reduce their working hours by up to a half while their youngest child was under age 6, along with job protection measures. Leveraging eligibility rules, we follow a regression kink design, comparing ineligible women to mothers who had varying lengths of eligibility, and tracking their subsequent work trajectories. Our findings show that longer eligibility led to a modest increase in maternal part-time work during her child's early years, with mothers working approximately one additional day part-time for each extra month of eligibility. This increase in part-time work substituted for days spent in unemployment rather than reducing full-time work, leading to a rise in earnings. In the long term, extended eligibility also led to improvements in both employment and earnings. Overall, we find that the policy had a positive impact on the labor supply and earnings of women with children, both in the short and long term.

Suggested Citation

  • De Quinto, Alicia & González, Libertad, 2024. "The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Family-Friendly Policies on Mothers' Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 17509, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17509
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    worktime reduction; maternity; childcare policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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