Barefoot and in a German kitchen: federal parental leave and benefit policy and the return to work after childbirth in Germany

Does Mothers’ Parental Leave Uptake Stimulate Continued Employment and Family Formation? Evidence for Belgium

Parental leave schemes undoubtedly facilitate the combination of work and family life during leave-taking. In addition to this instantaneous effect of parental leave uptake, a growing yet limited body of research addresses the question of subsequent effects of parental leave uptake. As work-family policies, such as parental leave, are geared towards stimulating family formation and (female) employment, this study assessed whether the individual uptake of parental leave by employed mothers after the birth of a child yielded differential parity progression and employment patterns compared to eligible employed mothers that did not take leave. Using data from the Belgian Administrative Socio-Demographic panel, we applied dynamic propensity score matching and hazard models. Our results indicate that previous leave uptake is a differentiating factor in subsequent fertility and employment outcomes, but also that (self-)selection strongly affects this relation. Descriptive analyses indicate that mothers who use leave shortly after childbearing exhibit a similar progression to second births, more third births and less fourth births, while displaying substantially lower hazards of exiting the labour force regardless of parity. However, when controlling for the fact that mothers who use parental leave exhibit a stronger pre-birth attachment to the labour force, work for larger employers in specific employment sectors, and also differ from non-users in terms of household characteristics (e.g., higher household income, more likely to be married and less likely to have a non-Belgian background), many associations between leave uptake and subsequent fertility and employment outcomes turn neutral or even negative. No indication for higher parity progression among leave users was found and the hazard of exiting the labour force was moderately higher for leave users. These empirical results are discussed in the Belgian context of low parental leave benefits, short leave entitlements and low uptake of parental leave, features which are also displayed by other Western European countries and contrast with the Nordic European countries studied in previous research.

Influence of paid maternity leave on return to work after childbirth

BACKGROUND

Paid maternity leave (ML) has been associated with better health outcomes in mothers and newborns. However, its protective role in mothers' employment after childbirth remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between paid ML and being employed 1-year after childbirth.

METHODS

As part of the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) cohort study, 507 Spanish women employed at 12th week of pregnancy, were asked about their employment status and job characteristics at 32nd week of pregnancy. One year after childbirth, they were re-interviewed about their employment status and if they had taken paid ML. Incidence of maternal employment 1-year after childbirth was estimated. Crude and adjusted associations with paid ML were assessed by logistic regression, and characterized by odds ratios (ORs) with associated 95% CIs.

RESULTS

Information was obtained from 398 women. Of those, 290 (72.9%) were employed 1-year after childbirth. Incidence of maternal employment was lower for those who: i) didn't take paid ML, ii) were younger than 27 years; iii) had temporary contract, iv) had part-time jobs, v) reported less-favoured familiar social class, and vi) left the job before 32 weeks of pregnancy. Being employed 1-year after childbirth was more common in those who took paid ML (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.6-4.5), also after adjusting for staying at work until advanced stages of pregnancy (OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.0-3.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Taking paid ML seems to be associated with higher maternal employment rates 1-year after childbirth. Therefore, our findings suggest that protection of maternity might positively influence women's labour market participation after childbirth.

The Making of a Good Woman: Extended Parental Leave Entitlements and Mothers' Work Commitment in Germany

The authors investigate the relationship between family policy and women's attachment to the labor market, focusing specifically on policy feedback on women's subjective work commitment. They utilize a quasi-experimental design to identify normative policy effects from changes in mothers' work commitment in conjunction with two policy changes that significantly extended the length of statutory parental leave entitlements in Germany. Using unique survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and difference-in-differences, triple-differenced, and instrumental variables estimators for panel data, they obtain consistent empirical evidence that increasing generosity of leave entitlements led to a decline in mothers' work commitment in both East and West Germany. They also probe potential mediating mechanisms and find strong evidence for role exposure and norm setting effects. Finally, they demonstrate that policy-induced shifts in mothers' preferences have contributed to. retarding women's labor force participation after childbirth in Germany, especially as far as mothers' return to full-time employment is concerned.

Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf – wie wirksam sind deutsche ,,Care Policies“?

The objective of making it easier for parents to successfully balance career and family has recently taken on heightened importance for German family policy. In the last few years, reforms have been implemented in German care policies. In this contribution, we systematically review and evaluate German care policies before and after the implementation of these reforms. We start by discussing international research and then explore German evaluation studies on parental leave benefits, on publicly financed childcare before and after school entry, and on elderly care policies. Finally, we examine the extent to which some measures implemented conflict with another objective of family policy: that of providing an environment for a successful development of children. The paper concludes with an outlook on future research, discussing points that should be kept in mind in further German evaluation studies.

Parental leave and child health

This study investigates whether rights to parental leave improve pediatric health. Aggregate data are used for 16 European countries over the 1969 through 1994 period. More generous paid leave is found to reduce deaths of infants and young children. The magnitudes of the estimated effects are substantial, especially where a causal effect of leave is most plausible. In particular, there is a much stronger negative relationship between leave durations and post-neonatal or child fatalities than for perinatal mortality, neonatal deaths, or low birth weight. The evidence further suggests that parental leave may be a cost-effective method of bettering child health.

Ökonomische Analyse der Regelungen des Mutterschutzes in Deutschland

Die Mutterschutzleistungen in Deutschland werden derzeit als gesetzliche Sozialleistung von den Arbeitgebern bereitgestellt und auch teilweise finanziert. Dieser arbeitsrechtliche Eingriff in die freie Vertragsaushandlung lässt sich zwar nicht unter allokativen, aber unter distributiven Überlegungen legitimieren. Die derzeit vorherrschende Bereitstellung der Mutterschutzleistungen durch den Arbeitgeber ist sachimmanent geboten, jedoch ist im Bereich der Finanzierung eine Änderung der beiden bestehenden Regelungssysteme hin zu einer rein steuerfinanzierten Regelung wünschenswert, damit von diesen keine Lohn- bzw. Beschäftigungsnachteile für die Frauen ausgehen. Diese laufen nämlich den verteilungspolitischen Zielen, mit denen der gesetzliche Eingriff gerechtfertigt werden kann, zuwider.