Effects of Parental Leave Policies on Female Career and Fertility Choices
58 Pages Posted: 20 Sep 2014 Last revised: 30 Sep 2018
There are 2 versions of this paper
Effects of Parental Leave Policies on Female Career and Fertility Choices
Effects of Parental Leave Policies on Female Career and Fertility Choices
Date Written: September 23, 2018
Abstract
This paper constructs and estimates a dynamic discrete choice structural model of female employment and fertility decisions that incorporates job protection and cash benefits of parental leave legislation. The structural model is used for ex ante evaluation of policies that change the duration of job protection and/or the arrangement for cash benefits. Counterfactual simulations indicate that introducing an initial one-year job protection policy increases maternal employment significantly, but extending the existing job protection period from one to three years has little effect. In addition, the employment effects of cash benefits seem modest. Overall, parental leave policies have little effect on fertility.
Keywords: parental leave, female labor supply, discrete choice model, structural estimation
JEL Classification: J13, J22, J24
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation