Working Paper: NBER ID: w13188
Authors: Michael Baker; Kevin S. Milligan
Abstract: Public health agencies around the world have renewed efforts to increase the incidence and duration of breastfeeding. Maternity leave mandates present an economic policy that could help achieve these goals. We study their efficacy focusing on a significant increase in maternity leave mandates in Canada. We find very large increases in mothers' time away from work post-birth and in the attainment of critical breastfeeding duration thresholds. However, we find little impact on the self-reported indicators of maternal and child health captured in our data.
Keywords: maternity leave; breastfeeding; maternal employment; public health
JEL Codes: I18; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increase in breastfeeding duration (C41) | No robust evidence for improved maternal and child health outcomes (I15) |
| Increase in maternity leave mandates (J22) | Increase in time mothers spent away from work post-birth (J22) |
| Increase in time mothers spent away from work post-birth (J22) | Increase in breastfeeding duration (C41) |
| Increase in time mothers spent away from work post-birth (J22) | Increase in exclusive breastfeeding duration (C41) |
| Increase in time mothers spent away from work post-birth (J22) | Increase in proportion of women achieving six months of exclusive breastfeeding (J16) |
| Increase in time mothers spent away from work post-birth (J22) | Increase in breastfeeding duration elasticity (C41) |