Arbeitspapier

Parental leave, (in)formal childcare and long-term child outcomes

We provide a novel interpretation of the estimated treatment effects from evaluations of parental leave reforms. Accounting for the counterfactual mode of care is crucial in the analysis of child outcomes and potential mediators. We evaluate a large and generous parental leave extension in Austria exploiting a sharp birthday cutoff-based discontinuity in the eligibility for extended parental leave and geographical variation in formal childcare. We find that estimated treatment effects on long-term child outcomes differ substantially according to the availability of formal childcare and the mother's counterfactual work behavior. We show that extending parental leave has significant positive effects on children's health and human capital outcomes only if the reform induces a replacement of informal childcare with maternal care. We conclude that care provided by mothers (or formal institutions) is superior to informal care-arrangements.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: Working Paper ; No. 1704

Classification
Wirtschaft
Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
National Government Expenditures and Education
Time Allocation and Labor Supply
Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
Subject
Parental leave
formal childcare
informal childcare
child development
maternal labor supply
fertility
Elternzeit
Reform
Kinderbetreuung
Wirkungsanalyse
Kinder
Gesundheit
Bildungsniveau
Mütter
Arbeitsangebotsverhalten
Fertilität
Österreich

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Danzer, Natalia
Halla, Martin
Schneeweis, Nicole
Zweimüller, Martina
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Johannes Kepler University Linz, Christian Doppler Laboratory Aging, Health and the Labor Market
(where)
Linz
(when)
2017

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Danzer, Natalia
  • Halla, Martin
  • Schneeweis, Nicole
  • Zweimüller, Martina
  • Johannes Kepler University Linz, Christian Doppler Laboratory Aging, Health and the Labor Market

Time of origin

  • 2017

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