Parental Leave Benefits and Gender Inequality
Evidence from a Benefits Cap for High-Earning Mothers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9720447 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sevrin Waights (0000-0002-6844-6522, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Economic Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ej/ueaf078 |
| OpenAlex | W4413973500 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 48 |
I use the universe of tax returns in Germany and a regression kink design to estimate the impacts of mothers’ parental leave benefit amounts on within-couple earnings inequality. I make use of a benefits cap to estimate the causal impacts for high-earning women: a group for which earnings inequality is particularly large. A lower mother's benefit amount results in a reduced gender gap in earnings that persists beyond the benefit period for at least nine years after the birth. The longer-term impacts are driven by couples where the mother earned more than her partner pre-birth. Simulations suggest that a 10% reduction in the benefit amount could reduce long-run child penalties in sample couples from 63% to 46
Demographic economics · Economics · Gender equality · Gender inequality · Inequality · Labour economics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Retirement, Disability, and Employment · Work-Family Balance Challenges
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| Highly cited | No |
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