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The effect of California's paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study

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  • Lee, Bethany C.
  • Modrek, Sepideh
  • White, Justin S.
  • Batra, Akansha
  • Collin, Daniel F.
  • Hamad, Rita

Abstract

The U.S. is the only high-income country without a national paid family leave (PFL) policy. While a handful of U.S. states have implemented PFL policies in recent years, there are few studies that examine the effects of these policies on health. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that California's PFL policy—implemented in 2004—improved parent health outcomes. Data were drawn from the 1993–2017 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a large diverse national cohort study of U.S. families (N = 6,690). We used detailed longitudinal sociodemographic information about study participants and a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences analytic technique to examine the effects of California's PFL policy on families who were likely eligible for the paid leave, while accounting for underlying trends in these outcomes among states that did not implement PFL policies in this period. Outcomes included self-rated health, psychological distress, overweight and obesity, and alcohol use. We found improvements in self-rated health and psychological distress, as well as decreased likelihood of being overweight and reduced alcohol consumption. Improvements in health status and psychological distress were greater for mothers, and reductions in alcohol use were greater for fathers. Results were robust to alternative specifications. These findings suggest that California's PFL policy had positive impacts on several health outcomes, providing timely evidence to inform ongoing policy discussions at the federal and state levels. Future studies should examine the effects of more recently implemented state and local PFL policies to determine whether variation in policy implementation and generosity affects outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Bethany C. & Modrek, Sepideh & White, Justin S. & Batra, Akansha & Collin, Daniel F. & Hamad, Rita, 2020. "The effect of California's paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:251:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620301349
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915
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    2. Deborah Karasek & Sarah Raifman & William H. Dow & Rita Hamad & Julia M. Goodman, 2022. "Evaluating the Effect of San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance on Birth Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Chatterji, Pinka & Nguyen, Trang & Ncube, Butho & Dennison, Barbara A., 2022. "Effects of New York state paid family leave on early immunizations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    4. Megan M. Reynolds & Patricia A. Homan, 2023. "Income Support Policy Packages and Birth Outcomes in U.S. States: An Ecological Analysis," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-24, August.
    5. Regmi, Krishna & Wang, Le, 2022. "Maternity Leave," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1184, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Petra Rattay & Elena von der Lippe, 2020. "Association between Living with Children and the Health and Health Behavior of Women and Men. Are There Differences by Age? Results of the “German Health Update” (GEDA) Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-19, May.

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