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Maternal-biased parental leave

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  • Engström, Per
  • Kolm, Ann-Sofie
  • Liang, Che-Yuan

Abstract

The division of parental leave time between parents is in most countries extremely skewed towards mothers. In this paper we argue that, although it may be rational for a family to let the mother take the main part of the parental leave, the division is too skewed towards the mother even from the family's own perspective. The reason for this inefficiency is that parents have present-biased preferences, which make them place too much weight on the immediate utility effects of childcare. Time-consistent welfare can therefore be improved by increasing fathers' share of the family's parental leave time. In the light of recent regulations in the parental leave system in many countries, we argue that provision of commitment devices is more preferable than regulation when preferences are heterogeneous or uncertain.

Suggested Citation

  • Engström, Per & Kolm, Ann-Sofie & Liang, Che-Yuan, 2009. "Maternal-biased parental leave," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 583-590, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:30:y:2009:i:4:p:583-590
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Derek T. Tharp & Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm, 2021. "Gender Differences in the Intended Use of Parental Leave: Implications for Human Capital Development," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 47-60, March.
    2. Angelov, Nikolay & Johansson, Per & Lindahl, Erica, 2013. "Is the persistent gender gap in income and wages due to unequal family responsibilities?," Working Paper Series 2013:3, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.

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