The Impacts of Paid Family Leave Benefits: Regression Kink Evidence from California Administrative Data
Author: Sarah Bana
Author: Kelly Bedard
Author: Maya Rossin-Slater
Abstract: Although the United States provides unpaid maternity and family leave to qualifying workers, it is the only OECD country without a national paid leave policy, making wage replacement a pivotal issue under debate. We use ten years of linked administrative data from California together with a regression kink (RK) design to estimate the causal impacts of benefits in the first state-level paid family leave program for women with earnings near the maximum benefit threshold. We find no evidence that a higher weekly benefit amount (WBA) increases leave duration or leads to adverse future labor market outcomes for mothers in this group. In contrast, we document consistent evidence that an increase in the WBA leads to a small increase in the share of quarters worked one to two years after the leave and a sizeable increase in the likelihood of making a future paid family leave claim across a variety of specifications.
Date: 2018
Pages: 50
Date Added: 11/8/2021, 9:31:09 AM
Reading Notes:
Objective: To estimate the effect of paid family leave on leave taking and labor force participation
Importance: There are lots of studies on the motherhood wage penalty and on change in PFL policies, but few that examine the marginal effect of differences in the benefit amount, particularly in the United States
Background: California mothers are eligible for up to 16 weeks paid leave through a combination of California’s Paid Family Leave program and state Disability Insurance
Data & Key Variables:
Universe of California Paid Family Leave claims 2005-2014
Include only bonding with child claims
Claim date
Total benefit received
Quarterly earnings 2000-2014
Methodology: Regression kink design on earnings threshold for PFL benefits
Results: Higher paid family leave benefits have no effect on marginal leave duration, and small increases in employment continuity
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