Short-run fertility effects of parental leave benefits: evidence from a structural model

Holger Stichnoth

Empirical Economics, 2020, vol. 59, issue 1, No 5, 143-168

Abstract: Abstract Based on a structural model of fertility and female labour force supply with unobserved heterogeneity and state dependence, we evaluate the 2007 reform of parental leave benefits in Germany, which replaced a flat, means-tested benefit by a generous earnings-related transfer. The model predicts a short-term fertility effect of about 4%, which is consistent with recent quasi-experimental evidence. The fertility effect is strongest for first births and increases with income. We use the model for a number of counterfactual policy experiments in which we vary the generosity of parental leave benefits.

Keywords: Fertility; Female labour supply; Family policy; Parental leave; Latent-class models; State dependence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 C53 J13 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Short-run fertility effects of parental leave benefits: Evidence from a structural model (2014)
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DOI: 10.1007/s00181-019-01673-w

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