TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Huebener, Mathias
AU  - Kühnle, Daniel
AU  - Spieß, C. Katharina
        TI  - Parental Leave Policies and Socio-Economic Gaps in Child Development: Evidence from a Substantial Benefit Reform Using Administrative Data
        PY  - 2018/Aug/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 11794
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp11794
        AB  - This paper examines the effects of substantial changes in paid parental leave on child development and socio-economic development gaps. We exploit a German reform from 2007 that both expanded paid leave in the first year and removed paid leave in the second year following childbirth. Higher-income households benefited relatively more from the reform than low-income households. We use administrative data from mandatory school entrance examinations containing detailed child development assessments at age six within a difference-in-differences approach. Our precise and robust estimates reveal no effects of the changes in parental leave benefits on child development across various socio-economic groups, and consequently no effects on socio-economic development gaps.
        KW  - language skills
KW  - motor skills
KW  - school readiness
KW  - child development
KW  - parental leave benefit
KW  - socio-emotional stability
        ER  -