scholarly journals National Family Policies and Mothers’ Employment: How Earnings Inequality Shapes Policy Effects across and within Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Hook ◽  
Eunjeong Paek
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Maternal Employment ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Earnings Inequality ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Policy Effects ◽  
National Family ◽  
Paid Parental Leave

Although researchers generally agree that national family policies play a role in shaping mothers’ employment, there is considerable debate about whether, how, and why policy effects vary across country contexts and within countries by mothers’ educational attainment. We hypothesize that family policies interact with national levels of earnings inequality to differentially affect mothers’ employment outcomes by educational attainment. We develop hypotheses about the two most commonly studied family policies—early childhood education and care (ECEC) and paid parental leave. We test these hypotheses by establishing a novel linkage between the EU-Labour Force Survey and the Current Population Survey 1999 to 2016 ( n = 23 countries, 299 country-years, 1.2 million mothers of young children), combined with an original collection of country-year indicators. Using multilevel models, we find that ECEC spending is associated with a greater likelihood of maternal employment, but the association is strongest for non-college-educated mothers in high-inequality settings. The length of paid parental leave over six months is generally associated with a lower likelihood of maternal employment, but the association is most pronounced for mothers in high-inequality settings. We call for greater attention to the role of earnings inequality in shaping mothers’ employment and conditioning policy effects.

scholarly journals Paid parental leave in New Zealand: a short history and future policy options

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Callister ◽  
Judith Caltry
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Labour Force Participation ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Short History ◽  
Childbearing Age ◽  
Paid Parental Leave ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Age Range

In early 2005 the Labour-Progressive government stated that, while New Zealand’s overall labour force participation rates were high, the rate for some groups of women, particularly those aged 25-34 years, were below the OECD average. Given that this is the main childbearing age range for New Zealand women, mothers of young children form a significant component of this group. There was subsequently much debate about the benefits or otherwise of bringing more mothers into paid work and, inevitably, questions arose about the level of both parental leave and childcare support available to new parents.

scholarly journals The Effects of Paternity Leave on Parents’ Earnings Trajectories and Earnings Inequality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youjin Choi ◽  
Anders Holm ◽  
Rachel Margolis
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Earnings Inequality ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Mothers And Fathers ◽  
Paternity Leave ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
The Family ◽  
Paid Parental Leave

Paid parental leave from work reserved for mothers and fathers is one policy that has been proposed to equalize labor force participation, wages, and childcare for men and women. We examine the effects of fathers’ use of parental leave on paternal, maternal and family earnings, as well as earnings inequality within the family exploiting the institution of the Quebec Parental Insurance Program which reserved 5 weeks of leave for fathers. We find that ten years after the birth, father’s use of parental leave increases family income and makes wages more equal within the family.

Toward Thriving Families

2020 ◽  
pp. 213-226
Author(s):  
Maxine Eichner
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Free Market ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Paid Parental Leave ◽  
The Many

This chapter addresses three concerns that might arise when considering whether to adopt pro-family policies. First, it assesses whether adopting pro-family programs will make our economy less competitive. In answer, it demonstrates that countries that have adopted pro-family policies have experienced as much or more growth in GDP per hour worked in the last decades as the United States has. Furthermore, the employment rates in countries that have adopted pro-family policy are actually higher than our own. Second, the chapter considers whether the costs of pro-family programs, including paid parental leave, child benefits, and universal daycare and prekindergarten, would be prohibitively high. It demonstrates that the additional costs of pro-family programs could be readily absorbed either simply by shifting existing total social welfare spending to spend more on children publicly without paying a penny more overall or by raising taxes in a manner that placed no added burden on middle- and low-income families. Third and finally, the chapter considers whether pro-family policy would stifle Americans’ freedom. Free-market proponents who equate unregulated capitalism with freedom, this section shows, overlook the many ways that market pressures are increasingly constraining Americans’ lives.

scholarly journals The Impact of Parental Leave Policy on Child-Rearing and Employment Behavior: The Case of Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Serafima Chirkova
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Maternal Employment ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Reform Implementation ◽  
Leave Policy ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Parental leave and child care are important instruments of family policies to improve work–family balance. This paper studies the impact of the substantial change in Germany’s parental leave system on maternal employment. The aim of the reform was to decrease birth-related maternal employment breaks by providing more generous parental benefits for a shorter period of time. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel data for 2002–2015, I exploited quasi-experimental variation in the benefits to estimate the impact of the reform. I incorporated the mother’s decision to substitute her care time with the public child care. To control for the availability of child care, I used spatial and temporal variation in the availability of childcare slots. Overall, I did not find significant changes in maternal employment during the first three years of motherhood after the reform implementation. Only for high-income mothers, the reform produced a significant decrease in the employment participation during the first year of leave and an increase in employment probability after the benefits expired. The empirical findings suggest that the restriction in the childcare availability became an important constraint for the employment effect of the reform.

scholarly journals Causal Modelling in Fertility Research: A Review of the Literature and an Application to a Parental Leave Policy Reform

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Kreyenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Policy Effects ◽  
Causal Modelling ◽  
The Impact

This paper reviews empirical studies that have examined the causal determinants of fertility behaviour. In particular, we compare the approaches adopted in the different disciplines to improve our understanding of how birth dynamics are influenced by changes in female employment and changes in family policies. The wide array of panel data that have become available in recent years provide great potential for advanced causal modelling in this field. Event history modelling has been a dominant approach in sociology and demography. However, researchers are increasingly turning to other methods to unravel causal effects, such as fixed-effects modelling, the regression discontinuity approach, and statistical matching. We summarise selected studies, and discuss the advantages and the shortcomings of the different approaches. In an empirical section, we analyse the impact of the German 2007 policy reform on birth behaviour to illustrate the difficulties involved in isolating policy effects. The final chapter concludes by underscoring that even simple modelling strategies may be beneficial for improving our understanding of how policy effects shape demographic behaviour, and for laying the groundwork for more fine-grained causal investigations. * This article belongs to a special issue on “Identification of causal mechanisms in demographic research: The contribution of panel data”.

scholarly journals Family Policies and Family Outcomes in OECD Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 193-217
Author(s):  
Willem Adema ◽  
Chris Clarke ◽  
Olivier Thévenon
Keyword(s):  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Family Work ◽  
Family Outcomes ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
New Family ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Paid Parental Leave

AbstractFamilies in OECD member countries have changed dramatically in recent decades. Across almost all OECD countries, couples are marrying and starting a family later than ever before. Fertility rates are low. Divorce and re-partnering have become much more common, giving rise to a diversity of new family forms. The (male) single-earner family model, previously dominant, is now largely a thing of the past. This chapter examines how families and family policies have changed in OECD countries in recent decades. It starts with an overview of changes in families, in partnering behaviours, in family living arrangements, and in family work arrangements. The chapter then turns to the evolution of family policy and the policy response to changing families, such as increases in public Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) support and the provision of fathers-only paid parental leave. It concludes by highlighting important key challenges ahead, including how policy must adapt to growing inequalities between families.

National Family Policies in EC Countries in 1990

1993 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-366
Author(s):  
Heather Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Family Policies ◽  
National Family

Industrial Legislation in 2010

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shae McCrystal ◽  
Belinda Smith
Keyword(s):  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Parental Leave ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Full Effect ◽  
Safe Work ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Paid Parental Leave ◽  
Specific Regulation

Two themes in legislative activity in 2010 were national uniformity and some movement in using law to promote equality, especially gender equality. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) came into full effect with the commencement of the new safety net provisions and the referral to the Commonwealth of industrial relations powers over private-sector workforces in all states except Western Australia. Progress continued on the promised harmonization of Australian occupational health and safety laws with the release of a model Work Health and Safety Bill by Safe Work Australia, although developments in some states threaten to derail the process. An attempt to repeal most of the industry-specific regulation of the building and construction industry failed. The Federal Parliament passed legislation establishing a national paid parental leave scheme, and a number of changes to federal discrimination laws came into effect or were proposed, including the potential consolidation of federal discrimination legislation. This article provides an overview of these developments at federal level and concludes with a discussion of developments in the states including a brief overview of Victoria’s new equal opportunity legislation.

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