Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In the past two decades, several OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation) countries have adopted or expanded paid family leave. While the effects of paid maternity leave on child health have been the subject of a good amount of research, little is known about the effects of paid paternity leave. This is a limitation, since most of the recent expansion in paid family leave in OECD countries has been paternity leave. The purpose of this study is to extend the literature on the effects of paid family leave on the wellbeing of children, updating what we know about maternity leave, and establishing evidence on paternity leave. I will examine effects on the neonatal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, and the measles immunization rate in 35 OECD countries during the time period of 1990 to 2016. Using an event study design, I find a significant decrease in the infant, neonatal, and under-five mortality rates following the adoption of paid maternity leave. However, the same trend does not hold true for paid paternity leave. I discuss both the implications and potential reasons behind the larger protective effects of maternity leave over paternity leave on child health outcomes.