Events at CERGE-EI

Presenter: Yan Ren, a PhD student at CERGE-EI

Title: "Statutory Paternity Leave Extensions and Maternal Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from China."

Abstract: This paper studies the effect of paternity leave extensions on maternal subjective well-being in China. Using survey data from the China Family Panel Studies, I exploit provincial variation in the increase in paternity leave days after 2016. Using a continuous difference-in-differences approach, I compare mothers giving birth before and after the reform across provinces with different increases in paternity leave. The results suggest that longer statutory paternity leave does not improve maternal subjective well-being,  as measured by life satisfaction. The main estimates are negative and statistically significant, and the findings are broadly consistent in specifications that account for the ordinal nature of life satisfaction and relax the linearity assumption imposed by the baseline continuous treatment specification. The findings suggest that family policies designed to support mothers after childbirth may need to look beyond the length of statutory leave entitlement and consider whether leave translates into meaningful support in practice.

Link to join online: https://cerge-ei.webex.com/cerge-ei/j.php?MTID=m14e3884ad15b5dff7cd1524c3a29e2d3
Meeting number: 2740 444 0965
Meeting password: 73361