Can the child penalty be reduced? - Evaluating multiple policy interventions
Working paper
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3005000Utgivelsesdato
2022-07Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
- Discussion Papers [1004]
Sammendrag
Children cause large earnings drops for mothers but not fathers, a stylized fact known as the “child penalty” that explains a substantial portion of remaining gender income gaps. Can policy reduce the child penalty? We first document how changes in the child penalty over a long time horizon in Norway correlate with major family policy reforms. Next, we evaluate two possible interventions: paternity leave and high-quality childcare. We find no impact of paternity leave on child penalties or a measure of father’s preferences for childcare. In contrast, a year of publicly provided childcare reduces child penalties by 23% during the years of use. These results suggest governments can act to reduce child penalties, but providing alternatives to the mother’s time, such as quality childcare, is more effective than paternity leave.
Beskrivelse
This paper was previously circulated as “What Causes the Child Penalty and How Can it be
Reduced? Evidence from Same-Sex Couples and Policy Reforms”. The first part of the previously
circulated draft is now “What Causes the Child Penalty? Evidence from Same Sex and Adopting couples”.