Full Citation
Title: Impact of Paid Family Leave of California on Delayed Childbearing and on Infant Health Outcomes
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2016
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Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of the Paid Family Leave (PFL) Act of California on the timing of first births for mothers, as well as infant health outcomes. Using a Difference in Difference (DID) methodology and Vital Statistics data from National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), I find that PFL of California reduces birth delay by encouraging women over 35 years old to have their first child 2 years earlier. This policy improves infant health outcomes for new mothers at delayed childbearing by reducing incidence of low birth weight (<2500 g) by 1%, premature (< 37 weeks of gestation) by 1.5%, and cesarean-born infants by 3.1%. However, this policy has no significant impact on infant health for new mothers under age 35 years who are already in normal childbearing age. Finally, I investigate the impact of the PFL of California on labor market outcomes for new mothers. Results show that this policy has encouraged a return to work with a 5% increase in the likelihood of employment after childbirth for older women. The results are robust to a wide range of controls and robustness checks.
Url: http://faculty.bus.lsu.edu/papers/pap16_08.pdf
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Authors: Oloomi, Sara
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Publication Number: 2016-08
Institution: Louisiana State University
Pages: 34
Publisher Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS
Topics: Family and Marriage, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other, Work, Family, and Time
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