Maternity Leave and Children's Cognitive and Behavioral Development

Michael Baker and Kevin Milligan

No 17105, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We investigate the impact of maternity leave on the cognitive and behavioral development of children at ages 4 and 5, following up previous research on these children at younger ages. The impact is identified by legislated increases in the duration of maternity leave in Canada, which significantly increased the amount of first-year maternal care. Our results indicate no positive effect on indices of children's cognitive and behavioral development. We uncover a small negative impact on cognitive scores, which may indicate the timing of the mother/child separation due to the mother's return to work plays a role.

JEL-codes: I18 J13 J32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
Note: CH
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

Published as Michael Baker & Kevin Milligan, 2015. "Maternity leave and children’s cognitive and behavioral development," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 373-391, April.

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Journal Article: Maternity leave and children’s cognitive and behavioral development (2015)
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