Maternity benefits and marital stability after birth: evidence from the Soviet Baltic republics
产妇福利与出生后婚姻稳定:来自苏联波罗的海共和国的证据
Elizabeth Brainerd 1Olga Malkova2
作者信息
- 1. Brandeis University
- 2. University of Kentucky
- 折叠
摘要
出生后第一年压力重重的政策干预会影响婚姻稳定吗？我们利用1982年爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和立陶宛波罗的海国家产妇福利的大幅扩大来研究这个问题。该计划提供部分带薪假期，直到孩子一岁生日，并包括出生时的小额现金支付。我们使用个人层面的面板数据，并使用差异框架将波罗的海地区与类似的东欧国家进行比较。产妇津贴减少了出生后第一年内的离婚。这种下降至少持续了十年，表明夫妇完全避免离婚，而不是简单地推迟离婚。虽然母亲们将假期延长了几个月，但之后她们又回到了全职工作岗位，这符合劳动力市场上平等的性别规范。
Abstract
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-in-differences 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.
Key words
Maternity benefits/Mothers/Marital stability/Divorce/Marital dissolution引用本文复制引用
出版年
2023
NETL
NSTL
Springer Nature