Maternity Benefits and Marital Stability after Birth: Evidence from the Soviet Baltic Republics

Elizabeth Brainerd and Olga Malkova

No 16238, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Can a policy intervention in the stressful first year after a birth affect marital stability? We examine this question using a large expansion in maternity benefits in 1982 in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The program provided partially paid leave until the child's first birthday and included a small cash payment at birth. We use individual-level panel data and compare the Baltics with similar East European countries using a difference-indifferences framework. Maternity benefits decrease divorce within the first year after birth. This decrease persists for at least a decade, indicating that couples avoided divorce altogether rather than simply delaying it. While mothers extended their leave by several months, they returned to full-time work afterwards, consistent with egalitarian gender norms in the labor market.

Keywords: Eastern Europe; Baltics; maternity benefits; marital stability; divorce; marriage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J16 J18 P2 P3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 77 pages
Date: 2023-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-his, nep-lab and nep-tra
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published in: Journal of Population Economics, 2023, 36 (4), 2309-2345

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Journal Article: Maternity benefits and marital stability after birth: evidence from the Soviet Baltic republics (2023)
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