Expansions in Maternity Leave Coverage and Children's Long-Term Outcomes
利用德国三次产假政策改革，通过双重差分法评估产假覆盖扩大对儿童长期结果的影响，发现尽管政策显著改变了母亲产后返工行为，但并未改善儿童结局。
This paper evaluates the impact of three major expansions in maternity leave coverage in Germany on children's long-run outcomes. To identify the causal impact of the reforms, we use a difference-indifference design that compares outcomes of children born shortly before and shortly after a change in maternity leave legislation in years of policy changes, and in years when no changes have taken place. We find no support for the hypothesis that the expansions in leave coverage improved children's outcomes, despite a strong impact on mothers' return to work behavior after childbirth.