Abstract
This paper estimates the impact of a recent expansion in Canadian paid family leave from 25 to 50 weeks on maternal employment and transfer income. It finds the expansion coincided with increases in transfers to mothers of children age zero to one relative to mothers of children age three to four, and with decreases in returns to work in the year after birth. These changes were concentrated among economically advantaged groups of women, defined by marital status, education, and non-wage income. Despite these changes, there was no evidence of a decrease in returns to work or relative employment for mothers of children age one.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 693-711 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Journal of Population Economics |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Please send correspondence to Maria Hanratty. This paper was supported by a grant from the Canadian Embassy and the Statistics Canada Microdata Research Data Center Program. The research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada and the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada. The authors would like to thank three anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Keywords
- Canada
- Family leave
