Unanticipated Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Program

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu Terms of use: Documents in D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E S ABSTRACT Unanticipated Effects of California's Paid Family Leave ProgramWe examine the effect of California Paid Family Leave (CPFL) on young women's (less than 42 years of age) labor force participation and unemployment. CPFL enables workers to take at most six weeks of paid leave over a 12 month period in order to bond with new born or adopted children, or to care for sick family members or ailing parents. The policy benefits women, especially young women, since they are more prone to take such a leave. However, the effect of the policy on labor market outcomes is less clear. We apply difference-indifference techniques to identify the effects of the CPFL legislation on young women's labor force participation and unemployment. We find that the labor force participation rate, the unemployment rate, and the duration of unemployment among young women rose in California compared to states that did not adopt paid family leave. The latter two findings regarding higher young women's unemployment and unemployment duration are unanticipated effects of the CPFL program. We utilize a unique placebo test to validate the robustness of these results.JEL Classification: H43, J13, J18, J48

Paid Leave, Welfare, and Material Hardship After a Birth

“…For example, Stanczyk () found evidence that California's PFL program does not meaningfully reduce the risk of poverty or increase household income among low‐income single‐mother households in the period closely following a birth. Further suggesting that California's PFL program might have unintended consequences for less advantaged mothers, Das and Polachek () found evidence that the program influenced young women's labor market participation by increasing the likelihood and duration of unemployment spells among this group. Finally, scholars have also found that among women, being low‐income and less‐educated is negatively related to awareness of PFL programs, which may weaken the positive effects of PL on vulnerable, single‐mother families and raises concerns about how these families fare during the period around a birth (Applebaum & Milkman, 2013).…”

Career Breaks after Childbirth: The Impact of Family Leave Reforms in the Czech Republic

“…12 Das and Polachek (2015) also consider the impact of family leave regulations on unemployment, but they study the impact on unemployment of all young women, not specifically that of mothers after childbirth.…”

The Effect of Paid Sick Leave Mandates on Access to Paid Leave and Work Absences

“…Both studies find that access to paid family leave increased leave-taking on the intensive margin, while Slater, Ruhm, and Waldfogel also find increased work hours and higher wages for mothers who had returned to work after giving birth. Focusing on the same California paid leave policy, Das and Polachek (2015) report that, compared to men and older women, younger women experienced an increase in labor force participation and unemployment following the mandate. Byker (2016) studies the California paid leave mandate and a similar policy adopted in New Jersey in 2009 and also finds evidence of increased labor force participation for women.…”