%0 Report
        %A Huebener, Mathias
%A Kühnle, Daniel
%A Spieß, C. Katharina
        %T Parental Leave Policies and Socio-Economic Gaps in Child Development: Evidence from a Substantial Benefit Reform Using Administrative Data
        %D 2018
        %8 2018 Aug
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 11794
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp11794
        %X 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.
        %K language skills
%K motor skills
%K school readiness
%K child development
%K parental leave benefit
%K socio-emotional stability