The Economic Consequences of Family Policies: Lessons from a Century of Legislation in High-Income Countries / Claudia Olivetti, Barbara Petrongolo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olivetti, Claudia.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Petrongolo, B. (Barbara)

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w23051.

NBER working paper series no. w23051

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Economic Consequences of Family Policies

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2017.

Summary:

We draw lessons from existing work and our own analysis on the effects of parental leave and other interventions aimed at aiding families. The outcomes of interest are female employment, gender gaps in earnings and fertility. We begin with a discussion of the historical introduction of family policies ever since the end of the nineteenth century and then turn to the details regarding family policies currently in effect across high-income nations. We sketch a framework concerning the effects of family policy to motivate our country- and micro-level evidence on the impact of family policies on gender outcomes. Most estimates of the impact of parental leave entitlement on female labor market outcomes range from negligible to weakly positive. There is stronger evidence that spending on early education and childcare increases labor force participation of women and reduces gender gaps.

Notes:

Print version record

January 2017.