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Long-Run Effects of Incentivizing Work After Childbirth

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  • Elira Kuka
  • Na'ama Shenhav

Abstract

This paper identifies the impact of increasing post-childbirth work incentives on mothers’ long-run careers. We exploit variation in work incentives across mothers based on the timing of a first birth and eligibility for the 1993 expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Ten to nineteen years after a first birth, single mothers who were exposed to the expansion immediately after birth (“early”), rather than 3–6 years later (“late”), have 0.62 more years of work experience and 4.2% higher earnings conditional on working. We show that higher earnings are primarily explained by improved wages due to greater work experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Elira Kuka & Na'ama Shenhav, 2020. "Long-Run Effects of Incentivizing Work After Childbirth," NBER Working Papers 27444, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27444
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    Cited by:

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    3. Lisa Cameron & Diana Contreras Suarez & Yi-Ping Tseng, 2023. "Women’s transitions in the labour market as a result of childbearing: the challenges of formal sector employment in Indonesia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2023n06, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    4. Ulrich Glogowsky & Emanuel Hansen & Dominik Sachs & Holger Lüthen, 2024. "The Evolution of Child-Related Gender Inequality in Germany and The Role of Family Policies, 1960-2018," Economics working papers 2024-08, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    5. Jonathan Meer & Joshua Witter, 2022. "Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit for Childless Adults: A Regression Discontinuity Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 37, pages 175-198, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Lisa Barrow & Bea Rivera & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2024. "Work, Poverty, and Social Benefits Over the Past Three Decades," Working Papers 24-22, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    7. Nicardo S. McInnis & Katherine Michelmore & Natasha Pilkauskas, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty and Public Assistance: Evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit," NBER Working Papers 31429, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Montpetit, Sébastien & Beaureard, Pierre-Loup & Carrer, Luisa, 2024. "A welfare analysis of universal childcare: Lessons from a Canadian reform," CLEF Working Paper Series 73, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    9. Bastian, Jacob E. & Jones, Maggie R., 2021. "Do EITC expansions pay for themselves? Effects on tax revenue and government transfers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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