Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/307332 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11402
Publisher: 
CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
Take-up of social benefits is a central issue in poverty alleviation and fiscal evaluations of policy reforms. However, it is difficult to find exogenous variation in the benefit level, and little is therefore known about take-up responses to basic financial incentives. We exploit large and plausibly random variation in levels of "flat-rate parental leave benefits", which all Swedish parents are entitled to. There are no financial reasons to leave money on the table, but take-up is nevertheless imperfect. Higher benefits substantially increase claiming across the income distribution. We further detect sizable spillover effects on subsequent take-up of low-income earners.
Subjects: 
parental benefits
incomplete take-up
after-tax benefits
JEL: 
H24
J22
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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