The Effects of Maternity Leave Benefits on Mothers and Children. A Reexamination

Otto Sevaldson Lillebø (), Simen Markussen () and Knut Røed
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Otto Sevaldson Lillebø: Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research, and Education
Simen Markussen: Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research

No 18193, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We provide a full reexamination of the effects of a maternity leave extension implemented in Norway in 1977. Previous research reporting large favorable long-term effects on mothers' health and on offspring's educational and labor market outcomes relied on an incorrect description of the reform and an invalid identification strategy. In the present paper, we show that the previously reported results are misleading. Building on an accurate description of the reform and its implementation, we document that it had no noticeable long-term effects on mothers' health or on offspring's education and labor market outcomes.

Keywords: maternity leave; family policies; replication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C52 J13 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hea and nep-lab
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