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The Impact of Provincial Maternity and Parental Leave Policies on Employment Rates of Women with Young Children in Canada

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  • Adrienne ten Cate

Abstract

Maternity and parental leave policies are on the forefront of the current political agenda in Canada. This paper answers the question: does maternity and parental leave (M/PL) policy raise or lower the probability of employment for a woman? One unique feature of M/PL policy in Canada is the variation in mandated unpaid job-protected leave allowances across provinces. This variation is used in this study to identify the effect of provincial M/PL policies on employment rates of women with young children. Using the Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from 1976 to 2000, I find evidence that M/PL policy reduces the gap between the employment probabilities of women with young children versus women with older children. Moreover, a difference-in-differences model predicts a 3 to 4 percent increase in the probability of employment for women with young children (aged 0 to 2) relative to women with older children as a result of M/PL policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Adrienne ten Cate, 2003. "The Impact of Provincial Maternity and Parental Leave Policies on Employment Rates of Women with Young Children in Canada," Department of Economics Working Papers 2003-03, McMaster University.
    • Handle: RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2003-03
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shelley Phipps & Peter Burton & Lynn Lethbridge, 2001. "In and out of the labour market: long‐term income consequences of child‐related interruptions to women's paid work," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), pages 411-429, May.
    2. Schwartz, L., 1988. "Parental and Maternity Leave Policies in Canada and Sweden," Papers 18, Queen's at Kingston - Sch. of Indus. Relat. Research Essay Series.
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    6. 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.
    7. Yoshio Higuchi & Jane Waldfogel & Masahiro Abe, 1999. "Family leave policies and women's retention after childbirth: Evidence from the United States, Britain, and Japan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 12(4), pages 523-545.
    8. Shelley A. Phipps, 2000. "Maternity and Parental Benefits in Canada: Are there Behavioural Implications?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 26(4), pages 415-436, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Xuelin, 2008. "The Post-childbirth Employment of Canadian Mothers and the Earnings Trajectories of Their Continuously Employed Counterparts, 1983 to 2004," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2008314e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    2. Jerome De Henau & Daniele Meulders & Sile O'Dorchai, 2010. "Maybe Baby: Comparing Partnered Women's Employment and Child Policies in the EU-15," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 43-77.
    3. Raquel Bernal & Adriana Camacho & Carmen Elisa Flórez & Alejandro Gaviria, 2009. "Desarrollo económico: retos y políticas públicas," Documentos CEDE 5269, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    4. Jérôme De Henau & Danièle Meulders & Sile Padraigin O'Dorchai, 2006. "The comparative effectiveness of public policies to fight motherhood-induced employment penalties and decreasing fertility in the former EU-15," DULBEA Working Papers 0026, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Federico Podestà, 2014. "The Impact of the 'Free Choice' Work/Family Reforms of France and Belgium. A Synthetic Control Analysis," FBK-IRVAPP Working Papers 2014-06, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (IRVAPP), Bruno Kessler Foundation.
    6. Michael Baker & Kevin Milligan, 2005. "How Does Job-Protected Maternity Leave Affect Mothers' Employment and Infant Health?," NBER Working Papers 11135, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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