Female labor supply and parental leave benefits: The causal effect of paying higher transfers for a shorter period of time

Arbeitspapier

We study the labor supply effects of a major change in child-subsidy policy in Germany in 2007 designed to both increase fertility and shorten birth-related employment interruptions. The reform involved a move from a means-tested maternity leave benefit system that paid a maximum of 300 Euro for up to two years to an income dependent benefit system that replaced two third of the pre-birth income for at most one year. As the reform took place very recently, we estimate the labor supply effect by using data drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel on the intention of women to return to the labor market; notably whether women are likely to return and whether they intend to return quickly. Our results show that the reform yields most of the intended effects: The fraction of mothers who responded that they were going to return to the labor market within a year since the interview increased by 14 percentage points.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 2009:5

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
• Subject: Female labor supply ; fertility ; child subsidy ; parents money ; Elternzeit ; Wirkungsanalyse ; Frauenerwerbstätigkeit ; Arbeitsangebot ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bergemann, Annette ; Riphahn, Regina T.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU)
• (where): Uppsala
• (when): 2009

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/45709
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET