Maternity Leave and Mothers' Long-Term Sickness Absence - Evidence from Germany

Abstract

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. Abstract Exploiting unique German administrative data, we estimate the association between an expansion in maternity leave duration from two to six months in 1979 and mothers' post-birth long-term sickness absence over a period of three decades after childbirth. Using a regression discontinuity design, we first show that the leave extension caused mothers to significantly delay their return to work within the first year after childbirth. We then compare the number and length of spells of long-term sickness absence of returned mothers who gave birth before and after the change in leave legislation. Our findings suggest that among those returned, mothers subject to the leave extension exhibit a higher incidence of long-term sickness absence as compared to control mothers. This also holds true after controlling for observable differences in pre-birth illness histories. At the same time, there are no pronounced effects on mothers' medium-run labor market attachment following the short-run delay in return to work, which might rationalize a negative causal health effect. Breaking down the results by mothers' pre-birth health status suggests that the higher incidence of long-term sickness absence among the treated may be explained by the fact that the reform has facilitated re-entry of a negative health selection into the labor market.

The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on Maternal Health

“…7 Two recent studies employ a regression discontinuity design similar to ours to analyze the impact of paid leave expansions on maternal health. Guertzgen and Hank (2014) study an expansion in paid leave in Germany from 2 to 6 months in 1979. They estimate the impact of the expansion on mothers' long-term sickness absence (i.e.…”

“…The above-mentioned studies often focus on very selected samples of mothers. Chatterji and Markowitz (2005) only consider mothers who returned to work within 6 months postpartum; Baker and Milligan (2008b) do not include single mothers; Chatterji and Markowitz (2012) only consider new mothers; and Guertzgen and Hank (2014) focus on employed mothers. We improve upon the limited generalizability of these prior studies.…”

“…We contribute to the sparse literature that estimates the causal relationship between maternity leave and maternal health in a variety of ways (see for example Chatterji and Markowitz 2005, Baker and Milligan 2008b, Guertzgen and Hank 2014, Beuchert et al 2016). 2 First, our data contains a large and comprehensive set of health outcomes, including self-reported measures as well as biomarkers from medical examinations (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol).…”

Dismissal Protection and Long-term Sickness Absence – First Evidence from Germany

“…The medical service run by the statutory health insurance is entitled to audit individuals' sickness absence, if the statutory health insurance expresses profound suspicions about any potential abuse of the sick pay system. Such audits may be performed either based on an assessment of the documentation provided by the medical doctor who ascertained the individual's inability to work, or based on a personal assessment of the individual's ability to work by the service's medical sta (see Gürtzgen/Hank, 2018). 11 Second, individuals who experienced a long-term illness episode are generally entitled to conclude a reintegration agreement with their employer with the general objective of a (possibly stepwise) reintegration into their former job.…”