Parental Leave Policies and Socio-Economic Gaps in Child Development: Evidence from a Substantial Benefit Reform Using Administrative Data

Mathias Huebener, Daniel Kühnle () and Katharina Spiess ()
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Daniel Kühnle: University of Duisburg-Essen
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Daniel Kuehnle ()

No 11794, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of substantial changes in paid parental leave on child development and socio-economic development gaps. We exploit a German reform from 2007 that both expanded paid leave in the first year and removed paid leave in the second year following childbirth. Higher-income households benefited relatively more from the reform than low-income households. We use administrative data from mandatory school entrance examinations containing detailed child development assessments at age six within a difference-in-differences approach. Our precise and robust estimates reveal no effects of the changes in parental leave benefits on child development across various socio-economic groups, and consequently no effects on socio-economic development gaps.

Keywords: language skills; motor skills; school readiness; child development; parental leave benefit; socio-emotional stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J18 J22 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2018-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-eur and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Labour Economics, 2019, 61, 101754

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Related works:
Journal Article: Parental leave policies and socio-economic gaps in child development: Evidence from a substantial benefit reform using administrative data (2019)
Journal Article: Parental leave policies and socio-economic gaps in child development: Evidence from a substantial benefit reform using administrative data (2019)
Working Paper: Paid Parental Leave and Child Development: Evidence from the 2007 German Parental Benefit Reform and Administrative Data (2017)
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