Paid Maternity Leave and Breastfeeding in Urban China
基于2010年中国妇女社会地位调查数据，研究发现带薪产假每增加30天，母乳喂养至少6个月的概率提高12个百分点；1988-2008年间非大学学历母亲产假缩短23天，导致该概率下降9个百分点。
Using data from the 2010 Survey on Chinese Women's Social Status, this contribution estimates the effect of paid maternity leave on breastfeeding duration in urban China during the 1988–2008 period. The analysis applies a policy-based identification strategy to control for the endogenous relationship between paid leave entitlements and breastfeeding decisions. Estimates show that paid maternity leave has a strong positive effect on breastfeeding duration. Specifically, if the length of paid leave increases by thirty days, then the probability of breastfeeding for at least six months increases by 12 percentage points. Between 1988 and 2008, the average length of paid leave for mothers without a college education decreased by twenty-three days, which reduced these mothers’ probability of breastfeeding for at least six months by 9 percentage points. These results support the view that paid maternity leave enhances the ability of employed women to sustain breastfeeding and call for universal paid leave entitlements.