Maternity and Family Leave Policy

Maya Rossin-Slater ()
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Maya Rossin-Slater: Stanford University

No 10500, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Maternity and family leave policies enable mothers to take time off work to prepare for and recover from childbirth and to care for their new children. While there is substantial variation in the details of these policies around the world, the existing research yields the following general conclusions. First, despite important barriers to the take-up of leave, both the implementation of new programs and extensions of existing ones increase leavetaking rates among new parents. Second, leave entitlements less than one year in length can improve job continuity for women and increase their employment rates several years after childbirth; longer leaves can negatively influence women's earnings, employment, and career advancement. Third, extensions in existing paid leave policies have no impact on measures of child well-being, but the introduction of short paid and unpaid leave programs can improve children's short- and long-term outcomes. Fourth, while more research is needed, the current evidence shows minimal impacts of existing U.S. state-level programs on employer-level outcomes such as employee productivity, morale, profitability, turnoverrates, or the total wage bill.

Keywords: motherhood wage penalty; maternity leave; family leave; working mothers; female labor supply (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H4 J13 J18 J38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2017-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-gen
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (50)

Published - published in: S.L. Averett, L.M. Margys, S.D. Hoffman (eds.): Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy, Oxford, 2018

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