Paid family leave and parental investments in infant health: Evidence from California

Jessica Pac, Ann Bartel, Christopher Ruhm and Jane Waldfogel

Economics & Human Biology, 2023, vol. 51, issue C

Abstract: This paper evaluates the effect of Paid Family Leave (PFL) on breastfeeding and immunizations– two critical parental investments in infant health – which we identify using California’s 2004 PFL policy that ensured mothers up to six weeks of leave at a 55% wage replacement rate. We employ difference-in-difference and difference-in-difference-in-differences models for a large, representative sample of children (N = 314,532) born between 2000 and 2013 drawn from the restricted-use versions of the 2003–2014 National Immunization Surveys. Our most conservative estimates indicate that access to PFL is associated with at least a 15% increase in breastfeeding exclusively for at least six months. We find substantially large effects for disadvantaged mothers, adding to the existing evidence that access to state-sanctioned paid family leave might benefit children overall and disadvantaged children in particular.

Keywords: Paid family leave; Maternity leave; Child health; Parental investments; Breastfeeding; Vaccines; Immunizations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 J13 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:51:y:2023:i:c:s1570677x23000898

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101308

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