Paid Parental Leave Laws in the United States: Does Short-Duration Leave Affect Women's Labor-Force Attachment?
American Economic Review · 2016 · Volume 106 · Issue 5
Abstract
I analyze the effects of short-duration paid parental leave on maternal labor supply. Using monthly longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, my event-study research design estimates impacts of paid leave laws in California and New Jersey on women's labor-force outcomes around childbirth. I find that paid leave laws are associated with a substantial increase in labor-force attachment in the months directly around birth. While US-style short-duration leave is unlikely to change prolonged exits from the labor force, my findings imply that paid leave laws induce some women stay more attached to jobs, particularly low-skill women.
Keywords
Economics of Gender, Non-labor Discrimination, Time Allocation and Labor Supply, Human Capital, Skills, Occupational Choice, Labor Productivity, Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits, Retirement Plans, Private Pensions, Labor Law
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