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Maternity Benefits and Marital Stability after Birth: Evidence from the Soviet Baltic Republics

Author

Listed:
  • Brainerd, Elizabeth

    (Brandeis University)

  • Malkova, Olga

    (University of California, Irvine)

Abstract

Can a policy intervention in the stressful first year after a birth affect marital stability? We examine this question using a large expansion in maternity benefits in 1982 in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The program provided partially paid leave until the child's first birthday and included a small cash payment at birth. We use individual-level panel data and compare the Baltics with similar East European countries using a difference-indifferences framework. Maternity benefits decrease divorce within the first year after birth. This decrease persists for at least a decade, indicating that couples avoided divorce altogether rather than simply delaying it. While mothers extended their leave by several months, they returned to full-time work afterwards, consistent with egalitarian gender norms in the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Brainerd, Elizabeth & Malkova, Olga, 2023. "Maternity Benefits and Marital Stability after Birth: Evidence from the Soviet Baltic Republics," IZA Discussion Papers 16238, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16238
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    Cited by:

    1. Agrawal David R. & Foremny Dirk, 2022. "Redistribution In A Globalized World," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 242(5-6), pages 551-567, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Eastern Europe; Baltics; maternity benefits; marital stability; divorce; marriage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • P3 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions

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