Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/180551 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11533
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We examine how a paid parental leave reform causally affected families' living arrangements. The German reform we examine replaced a means-tested benefit with a universal transfer paid out for a shorter period. Combining a regression discontinuity with a difference-in-differences design, we find that the reform increased the probability that a newborn lives with non-married cohabiting parents. This effect results from a reduced risk of single parenthood among women who gained from the reform. We reject the economic independence hypothesis and argue that the reform effects for those who benefited from the reform are consistent with hypotheses related to the improved financial situation of new mothers after the reform and increased paternal involvement in childcare.
Subjects: 
parental leave
living arrangements
marriage
cohabitation
single motherhood
child well-being
early childhood
JEL: 
J12
J13
J18
I30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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