Working Paper: NBER ID: w19741
Authors: Charles L. Baum; Christopher J. Ruhm
Abstract: Using data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY-97), we examine the effects of California's first in the nation government-mandated paid family leave program (CA-PFL) on mothers' and fathers' use of leave during the period surrounding child birth, and on the timing of mothers' return to work, the probability of eventually returning to pre-childbirth jobs, and subsequent labor market outcomes. Our results show that CA-PFL raised leave-taking by around 2.4 weeks for the average mother and just under one week for the average father. The timing of the increased leave use - immediately after birth for men and around the time that temporary disability insurance benefits are exhausted for women - is consistent with causal effects of CA-PFL. Rights to paid leave are also associated with higher work and employment probabilities for mothers nine to twelve months after birth, possibly because they increase job continuity among those with relatively weak labor force attachments. We also find positive effects of California's program on hours and weeks of work during their child's second year of life and possibly also on wages.
Keywords: Paid Family Leave; Labor Market Outcomes; California; NLSY97
JEL Codes: J1; J18; J2; J3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| availability of CAPFL (G31) | leave-taking by mothers (J22) |
| availability of CAPFL (G31) | leave-taking by fathers (J12) |
| availability of CAPFL (G31) | probability mothers return to work within nine to twelve months (J22) |
| availability of CAPFL (G31) | number of hours and weeks worked by mothers during child's second year (J22) |
| availability of CAPFL (G31) | wages of mothers (J31) |
| availability of CAPFL (G31) | incentives for pregnant women to remain employed until childbirth (J22) |