@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp16238,
            	author={Brainerd, Elizabeth and Malkova, Olga},
            	title={Maternity Benefits and Marital Stability after Birth: Evidence from the Soviet Baltic Republics},
            	year={2023},
	month={Jun},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={16238},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/publications/dp16238},
	abstract={Can a policy intervention in the stressful first year after a birth affect marital stability? We examine this question using a large expansion in maternity benefits in 1982 in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The program provided partially paid leave until the child's first birthday and included a small cash payment at birth. 
We use individual-level panel data and compare the Baltics with similar East European countries using a difference-indifferences framework. Maternity benefits decrease divorce within the first year after birth. This decrease persists for at least a decade, indicating that couples avoided divorce altogether rather than simply delaying it. While mothers extended their leave by several months, they returned to full-time work afterwards, consistent with egalitarian gender norms in the labor market.
},
	keywords={Eastern Europe;Baltics;maternity benefits;marital stability;divorce;marriage},
            }