IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ozl/journl/v9y2006i4p343-370.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Maternity Leave Encourage Higher birth Rates? An Analysis of the Australian Labour Market

Author

Listed:
  • Leonora Risse

    (University of Queensland)

Abstract

This paper uses data from the 2003 HILDA Survey to assess the impact of maternity leave on the incidence of pregnancy among Australian women. The empirical analysis accounts for the fact that data on maternity leave is unobserved for non-working women and applies a Heckprobit selection model to control for potential sample selection bias. The analysis finds that the availability of maternity leave can significantly elevate pregnancy rates but this effect depends on a woman’s age and whether maternity leave is paid or unpaid. The findings imply that the implementation of national paid maternity leave legislation in Australia would work to encourage women to bring forward the timing of childbirths and help ease the economic pressures of the ageing population.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonora Risse, 2006. "Does Maternity Leave Encourage Higher birth Rates? An Analysis of the Australian Labour Market," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 9(4), pages 343-370, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:9:y:2006:i:4:p:343-370
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/journl/downloads/AJLE094risse.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leibowitz, A. & Klerman, J.A., 1995. "Explaining Changes in Married Mothers'Employment Over Time," Papers 95-13, RAND - Reprint Series.
    2. Arleen Leibowitz & Jacob Klerman, 1995. "Explaining changes in married mothers’ employment over time," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 32(3), pages 365-378, August.
    3. Bruce Chapman & Paul Flatau, 2004. "Introduction and Appendix: The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey Special Issue: Case Studies in Labour Economics," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 7(2), pages 109-124, June.
    4. Painter, Gary, 2000. "Tenure Choice with Sample Selection: Differences among Alternative Samples," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 197-213, September.
    5. Gary Painter, 2000. "Tenure Choice with Sample Selection: A Note on the Differences among Alternative Samples," Working Paper 8647, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    6. Pastore, Francesco, 2005. "To Study or to Work? Education and Labour Market Participation of Young People in Poland," IZA Discussion Papers 1793, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. 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.
    8. Gans, Joshua S. & Leigh, Andrew, 2009. "Born on the first of July: An (un)natural experiment in birth timing," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 246-263, February.
    9. Dex, Shirley & Joshi, Heather, 1999. "Careers and Motherhood: Policies for Compatibility," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(5), pages 641-659, September.
    10. Van de Ven, Wynand P. M. M. & Van Praag, Bernard M. S., 1981. "The demand for deductibles in private health insurance : A probit model with sample selection," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 229-252, November.
    11. Rosanna Scutella, 2000. "Labour supply estimates for married women in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 4(3), pages 152-172, September.
    12. Junsen Zhang & Jason Quan & Peter van Meerbergen, 1994. "The Effect of Tax-Transfer Policies on Fertility in Canada, 1921-88," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(1), pages 181-201.
    13. John M. Evans, 2001. "Firms' Contribution to the Reconciliation between Work and Family Life," OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers 48, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Inha Oh & Won-Sik Hwang & Hong Jun Yoon, 2019. "The Role of Work-Family Balance Policy for Enhancing Social Sustainability: A Choice Experiment Analysis of Koreans in their Twenties and Thirties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Bassford, Micaela & Fisher, Hayley, 2016. "Bonus babies? The impact of paid parental leave on fertility intentions," Working Papers 2016-04, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    3. Ahmed, Salma & Fielding, David, 2019. "Changes in maternity leave coverage: Implications for fertility, labour force participation and child mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James Alm & Mikhail I. Melnik, 2005. "Sales Taxes and the Decision to Purchase Online," Public Finance Review, , vol. 33(2), pages 184-212, March.
    2. Gary Painter & Lihong Yang & Zhou Yu, 2001. "Heterogeneity in Asian American Homeownership: The Impact of Household Endowments and Immigrant Status," Working Paper 8630, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    3. Painter, Gary & Gabriel, Stuart & Myers, Dowell, 2001. "Race, Immigrant Status, and Housing Tenure Choice," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 150-167, January.
    4. repec:iae:iaewps:wp2016n6 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Baum, Charles II, 2003. "The effect of state maternity leave legislation and the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act on employment and wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 573-596, October.
    6. Gary Painter & Lihong Yand & Zhou Yu, 2003. "Why are Chinese Homeownership Rates so high?," Working Paper 8620, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    7. Anna Zhu, 2016. "Maternal Employment Trajectories and Caring for an Infant or Toddler with a Disability," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2016n06, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    8. Gary Painter & Lihong Yang & Zhou Yu, 2003. "Heterogeneity in Asian American Home-ownership: The Impact of Household Endowments and Immigrant Status," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(3), pages 505-530, March.
    9. Sankar Mukhopadhyay, 2012. "The Effects Of The 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act On Female Labor Supply," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(4), pages 1133-1153, November.
    10. Natalia Danzer & Victor Lavy, 2018. "Paid Parental Leave and Children's Schooling Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(608), pages 81-117, February.
    11. Frodermann, Corinna & Wrohlich, Katharina & Zucco, Aline, 2023. "Parental Leave Policy and Long-run Earnings of Mothers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. Hélène Périvier, 2008. "Les femmes sur le marché du travail aux États-Unis," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2008-12, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    13. Julio E. Romero Prieto, 2018. "La maternidad y el empleo formal en Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo Sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 16328, Banco de la República, Economía Regional.
    14. Swarnankur Chatterjee & Velma Zahirovic-Herbert, 2011. "Homeownership and Housing Equity: An Examination of Native- Immigrant Differences in Housing Wealth," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 17(2), pages 211-223, May.
    15. Lawrence W C Lai & Winky K O Ho, 2001. "Zone Separation: A Probit Analysis of Hong Kong Planning Application Statistics," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 28(6), pages 923-932, December.
    16. Arleen Leibowitz, 1996. "Child Care: Private Cost or Public Responsibility?," NBER Chapters, in: Individual and Social Responsibility: Child Care, Education, Medical Care, and Long-Term Care in America, pages 31-58, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Francine D. Blau, 1998. "Trends in the Well-Being of American Women, 1970-1995," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 112-165, March.
    18. Dorrit, Posel & Gabrielle, van der Stoep, 2008. "Co-resident and absent mothers: Motherhood and labour force participation in South Africa," MPRA Paper 52907, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Paci, Pierella, 1999. "A bundle of joy or an expensive luxury : a comparative analysis of the economic environment for family formation in Western Europe," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 20118, The World Bank.
    20. Shirlee Lichtman, 2013. "The Value Of Postponing Pregnancy: California’S Paid Family Leave And The Timing Of Pregnancies," Working Papers 1310, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    21. Gary Painter & Zhou Yu, 2004. "Leaving Gateway Metropolitan Areas: Immigrants and the Housing Market," Working Paper 8597, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demographic Trends and Forecasts; General Migration; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth; Demographic Economics; Public Policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:9:y:2006:i:4:p:343-370. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sandie Rawnsley (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/becurau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.