Can Parents' Right to Work Part-Time Hurt Childbearing-Aged Women? A Natural Experiment with Administrative Data

Daniel Fernández-Kranz () and Núria Rodriguez-Planas
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Daniel Fernández-Kranz: IE Business School, Madrid
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Daniel Fernandez Kranz

No 7509, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using a differences-in-differences approach and controlling for individual unobserved heterogeneity, we evaluate the impact of a 1999 law that granted all workers with children younger than 7 years old protection against a layoff if the worker had previously asked for a work-week reduction due to family responsibilities. As only mothers took advantage of these arrangements, we find that after the law, employers were: (i) more likely to let childbearing-aged working women "go" relative to their male counterparts; (ii) less likely to promote childbearing-aged women into good jobs; and (iii) less likely to hire childbearing-aged women. In addition, employers were able to pass at least part of the cost to childbearing-aged women through lower wages, and the amount passed to workers increased with the precariousness of the job. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect on employment transitions is mainly driven by low-skilled workers and those in blue-collar jobs, while the effect on wages holds across all groups. Evidence that the substitution away from (good) jobs widens over time suggests employer learning. These results are robust to the use of different specifications and placebo tests.

Keywords: female employment transitions and wages; fixed-term and permanent contract (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 C25 C33 J16 J22 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2013-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-eur and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - substantially revised version published as 'Too Family Friendly? The Consequences of Parents' Right to Request Part-Time Work' in: Journal of Public Economics, 2021, 197, 104407

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