TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Brainerd, Elizabeth
AU  - Malkova, Olga
        TI  - Maternity Benefits and Marital Stability after Birth: Evidence from the Soviet Baltic Republics
        PY  - 2023/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 16238
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp16238
        AB  - 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.

        KW  - Eastern Europe
KW  - Baltics
KW  - maternity benefits
KW  - marital stability
KW  - divorce
KW  - marriage
        ER  -