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Henrik Kleven is out with a paper using 60 years of the entire population of Austria with a ton of family policy changes and he finds that childcare and parental leave expansions had NO EFFECT on gender equality. https://www.nber.org/papers/w28082
I mean, this is like a nuclear bomb on these policies.
That right there friends is a PRECISELY ESTIMATED NULL EFFECT of childcare expansions on the gender gap in Austria, using data running from 1953 to the present day!
It turns out that if you give people free childcare, but they nonetheless think it's important for parents to stay home, your free childcare doesn't reduce the gender gap at all.
Leave expansions are good policy for other reasons related to child outcomes, parental health, support for childrearing, etc.
Childcare expansions are BAD policy for other reasons: discriminatory intent and effect, negative child development outcomes, etc https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1328367125468119041
Childcare expansions are BAD policy for other reasons: discriminatory intent and effect, negative child development outcomes, etc https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1328367125468119041
In general, "universal transferrable paid leave per child" is a neutral and good policy. I co-authored a detailed proposal to provide just such a program! https://ifstudies.org/ifs-admin/resources/final-andersonstone-ifspaidfamilyleavepolicybrief.pdf
"Maternity leave" and "paternity leave," or "per worker" rather than "per child" benefits are not good. They are, again, discriminatory and unfair, while failing to achieve their egalitarian goals.
But child-oriented benefits made broadly available to all families are good!
But child-oriented benefits made broadly available to all families are good!
In general, cash is a preferable way to give aid.
But sometimes non-cash benefits are important, because there are non-monetary costs. The mostimportant such cost relates to time. Leave policies are a good way to tackle that cost. But they should be per child, not per worker.
But sometimes non-cash benefits are important, because there are non-monetary costs. The mostimportant such cost relates to time. Leave policies are a good way to tackle that cost. But they should be per child, not per worker.
People seem unaware of the "childcare doesn't help kids much" literature. So here's a good study of Quebec's expansion:
https://www.nber.org/papers/w21571?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw
And here's one of Germany's expansion: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/699979
https://www.nber.org/papers/w21571?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw
And here's one of Germany's expansion: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/699979
