Paid Parental Leave and Child Health in Australia

Abstract

Providing mothers with access to paid parental leave may be an important public policy to improve child and maternal health. Using extensive information from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, we estimate how paid parental leave entitlements influence children's health up to age 7. Exploiting detailed information on children's health, family background, mothers’ pre‐birth work histories and mothers’ health behaviours during pregnancy, we show that paid parental leave entitlements go together with a reduced probability of a child having multiple ongoing health conditions, but show no significant correlation with any single condition. We find that the reduction in multiple conditions is strongest for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Our study implies that the provision of paid parental leave for short periods is unlikely to substantially improve child health on average, but may potentially benefit the health of more disadvantaged children.

Horizontal equity in the design of Australian family payments for newborns

“…The evaluation of PLP commissioned by the Australian Government in 2010 presents some evidence that its introduction increased the amount of leave taken by eligible mothers in the 6 months following birth by 7.2 days, on average (Martin, et al, 2014; Broadway, et al, 2016). Hewitt et al, (2017) suggest PLP has a small positive effect on the mental and physical health of eligible mothers, and Broadway et al, (2017) suggest eligibility for workplace PML reduces the probability of a child having multiple ongoing health conditions, especially among children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. If PLP does in fact have a causal effect on maternal and child health, whether this justifies denying a higher level of family payment to mothers who fail the work test depends upon how the policy impacts these outcomes.…”

Perception of men perpetrators of violence about paternity

“…According to the statements, that element was passed on in childhood, as a characteristic of being a father, and reproduced with their children. National and international studies support such findings by revealing that historically family provision has been built so that men are economically active, responsible for providing for their children, and maintaining the hegemony of the patriarchal model (23)(24) . However, for those fathers who no longer live with their children because of a protective measure, it is not uncommon an impact also in the financial provision.…”

Percepção de homens perpetradores de violência acerca da paternidade

“…Conforme os discursos, esse elemento foi apreendido na infância, enquanto característica de ser pai, e reproduzido com seus filhos. Estudos nacionais e internacionais respaldam tais achados ao revelarem que a provisão familiar é historicamente construída para que os homens sejam economicamente ativos, responsáveis pelo sustento de sua prole, mantendo a hegemonia do modelo patriarcal (23)(24) . Entretanto, para esses pais, que não residem mais com suas/ seus filhas(os) dado o afastamento por medida protetiva, não é incomum que a provisão financeira seja também impactada.…”