Work

Public Policies, Women's Employment after Childbearing, and Child Well-Being

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper, we consider three U.S. public policies that potentially influence the work decisions of mothers of infants—parental leave laws, exemptions from welfare work requirements, and child care subsidies for low-income families. We estimate the effects of these policies on the timing of work participation after birth, and on a range of outcomes in the subsequent four years, using a group difference-in-difference technique suitable for analysis of cross-sectional data. We find that the three policies affect early maternal work participation, but obtain no evidence of significant consequences for child well-being.

Source: The B E Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy

DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.2938

Authors: Elizabeth Washbrook, Christopher J Ruhm, Jane Waldfogel, Wen-Jui Han

Institutions: University of Bristol, University of Virginia, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Gender equality

Open Access status: green

Funders: Economic and Social Research Council, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development