Work-family policy trade-offs for mothers? Unpacking the cross-national variation in motherhood earnings penalties

Michelle J. Budig, Joya Misra and Irene Boeckmann

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2016, vol. 43, issue 2, 119-177

Abstract: Recent scholarship suggests welfare state interventions, as measured by policy indices, create gendered trade-offs wherein reduced work–family conflict corresponds to greater gender wage inequality. The authors reconsider these trade-offs by unpacking these indices and examining specific policy relationships with motherhood-based wage inequality to consider how different policies have different effects. Using original policy data and Luxembourg Income Study microdata, multilevel models across 22 countries examine the relationships among country-level family policies, tax policies, and the motherhood wage penalty. The authors find policies that maintain maternal labor market attachment through moderate-length leaves, publicly funded childcare, lower marginal tax rates on second earners, and paternity leave are correlated with smaller motherhood wage penalties.

Keywords: family; women; earnings; social policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:171453

DOI: 10.1177/0730888415615385

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