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Paid Family Leave, Fathers' Leave-Taking, and Leave-Sharing in Dual-Earner Households

Author

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  • Bartel, Ann P.

    (Columbia University)

  • Rossin-Slater, Maya

    (Stanford University)

  • Ruhm, Christopher J.

    (University of Virginia)

  • Stearns, Jenna

    (University of California, Davis)

  • Waldfogel, Jane

    (Columbia University)

Abstract

This paper provides quasi-experimental evidence on the impact of paid leave legislation on fathers' leave-taking, as well as on the division of leave between mothers and fathers in dual-earner households. Using difference-in-difference and difference-in-difference-in-difference designs, we study California's Paid Family Leave (CA-PFL) program, which is the first source of government-provided paid parental leave available to fathers in the United States. Our results show that fathers in California are 0.9 percentage points – or 46 percent relative to the pre-treatment mean – more likely to take leave in the first year of their children's lives when CA-PFL is available. We also examine how parents allocate leave in households where both parents work. We find that CA-PFL increases father-only leave-taking (i.e., father on leave while mother is at work) by 50 percent and joint leave-taking (i.e., both parents on leave at the same time) by 28 percent. These effects are much larger for fathers of sons than for fathers of daughters, and almost entirely driven by fathers of first-born children and fathers in occupations with a high share of female workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Bartel, Ann P. & Rossin-Slater, Maya & Ruhm, Christopher J. & Stearns, Jenna & Waldfogel, Jane, 2015. "Paid Family Leave, Fathers' Leave-Taking, and Leave-Sharing in Dual-Earner Households," IZA Discussion Papers 9530, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9530
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    Cited by:

    1. Bana, Sarah & Bedard, Kelly & Rossin-Slater, Maya & Stearns, Jenna, 2023. "Unequal use of social insurance benefits: The role of employers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 233(2), pages 633-660.
    2. E. Mark Curtis & Barry T. Hirsch & Mary C. Schroeder, 2016. "Evaluating Workplace Mandates with Flows Versus Stocks: An Application to California Paid Family Leave," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(2), pages 501-526, October.
    3. Libertad González Luna & Lidia Farré, 2017. "The effects of paternity leave on fertility and labor market outcomes," Economics Working Papers 1572, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    4. 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.
    5. Mireia Borrell-Porta & Joan Costa-Font & Julia Philipp, 2019. "The ‘mighty girl’ effect: does parenting daughters alter attitudes towards gender norms?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 25-46.
    6. Bassford, Micaela & Fisher, Hayley, 2016. "Bonus babies? The impact of paid parental leave on fertility intentions," Working Papers 2016-04, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    7. repec:iae:iaewps:wp2016n9 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2017. "Maternity and Family Leave Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 10500, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Broadway, Barbara & Kalb, Guyonne & McVicar, Duncan & Martin, Bill, 2016. "The Impact of Paid Parental Leave on Labour Supply and Employment Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 9801, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Maya Rossin-Slater, 2017. "Maternity and Family Leave Policy," NBER Working Papers 23069, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Guyonne Kalb, 2018. "Paid Parental Leave and Female Labour Supply: AÂ Review," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 94(304), pages 80-100, March.
    12. Wendy A. Stock & Myron Inglis, 2021. "The longer‐term labor market impacts of paid parental leave," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 838-884, June.
    13. 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.
    14. Sara Oloomi, 2016. "Impact of Paid Family Leave of California on Delayed Childbearing and on Infant Health Outcomes," Departmental Working Papers 2016-08, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    parental leave; father's leave-taking; leave-sharing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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