Working Papers in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Bergen
No 06/09:
Does paternity leave affect mothers’ sickness absence
Espen Bratberg ()
and Ghazala Naz ()
Abstract: Female labour force participation is high in Norway but
sickness absence rates are higher for women than for men. This may be
partly a result of unequal sharing of childcare in the family. In this
paper, we consider the effect of paternity leave on sickness absence among
women who have recently given birth. We draw on a six-year panel taken from
full population data from administrative sources. We find that in the 6% of
families where fathers take out leave more than the standard quota
(gender-neutral leave), the incidence of absence among mothers is reduced
by about 5–10% from an average level of 20%.
Keywords: Parental leave; paternity quota; gender neutral leave; sickness absence; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: I38; J16; J22; (follow links to similar papers)
23 pages, May 5, 2009
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