Paid parental leave and families’ living arrangements

Kamila Cygan-Rehm, Daniel Kuehnle () and Regina Riphahn

Labour Economics, 2018, vol. 53, issue C, 182-197

Abstract: We examine how a paid parental leave reform causally affected families’ living arrangements. The German reform we examine replaced a means-tested benefit with a universal transfer paid out for a shorter period. Combining a regression discontinuity with a difference-in-differences design, we find that the reform increased the probability that a newborn lives with non-married cohabiting parents. This effect results from a reduced risk of single parenthood among women who gained from the reform. We reject the economic independence hypothesis and argue that the reform effects for those who benefited from the reform are consistent with hypotheses related to the improved financial situation of new mothers after the reform and increased paternal involvement in childcare.

Keywords: Parental leave; Living arrangements; Marriage; Cohabitation; Single motherhood; Child well-being; Early childhood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I30 J12 J13 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Working Paper: Paid Parental Leave and Families' Living Arrangements (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:53:y:2018:i:c:p:182-197

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2018.05.008

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