Abstract
This paper uses labour force survey data to examine the employment rates and employment decisions of women with young children in the United States, Britain and Japan. Our results confirm that young children have a very strong negative effect on women's employment; this effect is most pronounced in Britain. We then take advantage of panel data to investigate the effects of family leave coverage on women's job retention after childbirth. We find that family leave coverage increases the likelihood that a woman will return to her employer after childbirth in all three countries, with a particularly marked effect in Japan. This result suggests that the recent expansions in family leave coverage in the sample countries are likely to lead to increased employment of women after childbirth.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 523-545 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Journal of Population Economics |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 1999 |
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Keywords
- Family leave
- Maternity leave
- Women's employment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics and Econometrics
- Demography
Cite this
Family leave policies and women's retention after childbirth : Evidence from the United States, Britain, and Japan. / Waldfogel, Jane; Higuchi, Yoshio; Abe, Masahiro.
In: Journal of Population Economics, Vol. 12, No. 4, 1999, p. 523-545.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Family leave policies and women's retention after childbirth
T2 - Evidence from the United States, Britain, and Japan
AU - Waldfogel, Jane
AU - Higuchi, Yoshio
AU - Abe, Masahiro
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - This paper uses labour force survey data to examine the employment rates and employment decisions of women with young children in the United States, Britain and Japan. Our results confirm that young children have a very strong negative effect on women's employment; this effect is most pronounced in Britain. We then take advantage of panel data to investigate the effects of family leave coverage on women's job retention after childbirth. We find that family leave coverage increases the likelihood that a woman will return to her employer after childbirth in all three countries, with a particularly marked effect in Japan. This result suggests that the recent expansions in family leave coverage in the sample countries are likely to lead to increased employment of women after childbirth.
AB - This paper uses labour force survey data to examine the employment rates and employment decisions of women with young children in the United States, Britain and Japan. Our results confirm that young children have a very strong negative effect on women's employment; this effect is most pronounced in Britain. We then take advantage of panel data to investigate the effects of family leave coverage on women's job retention after childbirth. We find that family leave coverage increases the likelihood that a woman will return to her employer after childbirth in all three countries, with a particularly marked effect in Japan. This result suggests that the recent expansions in family leave coverage in the sample countries are likely to lead to increased employment of women after childbirth.
KW - Family leave
KW - Maternity leave
KW - Women's employment
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0033241634&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0033241634
VL - 12
SP - 523
EP - 545
JO - Journal of Population Economics
JF - Journal of Population Economics
SN - 0933-1433
IS - 4
ER -