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The Family and Medical Leave Act and the labor productivity of parents

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  • Dunbar, Geoffrey R.

Abstract

The Family and Medical and Leave Act of 1993 in the US expanded workplace provisions for leave-taking by working parents. In this note, I propose a method to estimate the effect of the FMLA on the productivity of working parents using variation in the labor share of income. I find that the FMLA increased parental productivity by an estimated 5 percentage points.

Suggested Citation

  • Dunbar, Geoffrey R., 2013. "The Family and Medical Leave Act and the labor productivity of parents," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 334-336.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:118:y:2013:i:2:p:334-336
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2012.11.019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wen-Jui Han & Christopher Ruhm & Jane Waldfogel, 2009. "Parental leave policies and parents' employment and leave-taking," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 29-54.
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    3. Dale W. Jorgenson, 1991. "Productivity and Economic Growth," NBER Chapters, in: Fifty Years of Economic Measurement: The Jubilee of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, pages 19-118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    5. Christopher J. Ruhm, 1998. "The Economic Consequences of Parental Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 285-317.
    6. Goodpaster Natalie K, 2010. "Leaves and Leaving: The Family and Medical Leave Act and the Decline in Maternal Labor Force Participation," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-38, January.
    7. Geoffrey Dunbar & Stephen Easton, 2013. "Working parents and total factor productivity growth," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 1431-1456, October.
    8. Edward F. Denison, 1961. "Measurement of Labor Input: Some Questions of Definition and the Adequacy of Data," NBER Chapters, in: Output, Input, and Productivity Measurement, pages 347-386, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Parental leave; Labor productivity; Labor share;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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