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Child Health in Elementary School Following California's Paid Family Leave Program

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  • Shirlee Lichtman‐Sadot
  • Neryvia Pillay Bell

Abstract

We evaluate changes in elementary school children health outcomes following the introduction of California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, which provided parents with paid time off following the birth of a child. Our health outcomes—overweight, ADHD, and hearing‐related problems—are characterized by diagnosis rates that only pick up during early elementary school. Moreover, our health outcomes have been found to be negatively linked with many potential implications of extended maternity leave—increased breastfeeding, prompt medical checkups at infancy, reduced prenatal stress, and reduced non‐parental care during infancy. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) within a difference‐in‐differences framework, our results suggest improvements in health outcomes among California elementary school children following PFL's introduction. Furthermore, the improvements are driven by children from less advantaged backgrounds, which is consistent with the notion that California's PFL had the greatest effect on leave‐taking duration after childbirth mostly for less advantaged mothers who previously could not afford to take unpaid leave.

Suggested Citation

  • Shirlee Lichtman‐Sadot & Neryvia Pillay Bell, 2017. "Child Health in Elementary School Following California's Paid Family Leave Program," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(4), pages 790-827, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:36:y:2017:i:4:p:790-827
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/pam.22012
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    Cited by:

    1. Courtney Coile & Maya Rossin-Slater & Amanda Su, 2022. "The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Families with Health Shocks," NBER Working Papers 30739, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Jones, Kelly & Wilcher, Britni, 2024. "Reducing maternal labor market detachment: A role for paid family leave," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Huebener, Mathias & Kuehnle, Daniel & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2019. "Parental leave policies and socio-economic gaps in child development: Evidence from a substantial benefit reform using administrative data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. 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).
    5. Samantha Trajkovski, 2019. "California Paid Family Leave and Parental Time Use," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 217, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    6. Bullinger, Lindsey Rose, 2019. "The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Infant and Parental Health in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 101-116.
    7. Otto Lenhart, 2021. "The effects of paid family leave on food insecurity—evidence from California," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 615-639, September.
    8. Feng Chen, 2023. "Does paid family leave save infant lives? Evidence from California's paid family leave program," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 319-337, April.
    9. Khan, Mariam S., 2020. "Paid family leave and children health outcomes in OECD countries," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. 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).
    11. Jessica Pac & Lawrence M. Berger, 2024. "Quasi‐experimental evidence on the employment effects of the 2021 fully refundable monthly child tax credit," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 192-213, January.
    12. Pac, Jessica & Bartel, Ann & Ruhm, Christopher & Waldfogel, Jane, 2023. "Paid family leave and parental investments in infant health: Evidence from California," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    13. Jiyoon Kim & Otto Lenhart, 2024. "Paid family leave and the fight against hunger: Evidence from New York," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1503-1527, July.
    14. Mathias Huebener & Daniel Kuehnle & C. Katharina Spiess, 2017. "Paid Parental Leave and Child Development: Evidence from the 2007 German Parental Benefit Reform and Administrative Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1651, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

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