In 2007, Germany implemented a generous parental leave regulation in order to make parenthood more attractive and more compatible with a working career, especially for mothers. We evaluate the reform using a natural experiment that compares outcomes of parents with children born shortly after...

This paper was motivated by the high absentee rate due to sickness among women and the assumption that mothers’ combination of gainful employment and family obligations may results in higher levels of sick leave absence. One popular policy used in Norway to encourage more equal sharing of...

Women account for the majority of parental leave take-up, which is likely one of the major reasons for the gender gap in income and wages. Consequently, many countries exert effort to promote a more gender equal division of parental leave. Indeed, the last decades have seen an increase in...

In 2002 the number of months reserved for fathers in the Swedish parental leave system increased from one to two. This coincided with an increase of total time of parental leave from 12 to 13 months. The results are obtained using a natural experiment approach, comparing the behavior of parents...

Women account for the majority of parental leave take-up, which is likely one of the major reasons for the gender gap in income and wages. Consequently, many countries exert effort to promote a more gender equal division of parental leave. Indeed, the last decades have seen an increase in...

Recently, economists have established that culture—defined as a common set of preferences and beliefs —affects economic outcomes, including the levels of female labor force participation. Although this literature has argued that culture is transmitted from parents to children, it has also...

To live up to its growth potential and secure its inclusive social model, the euro area must make better use of its available labor. In the aftermath of the crisis, boosting growth is essential to prevent unemployment from becoming a long-term problem and to facilitate the return to fiscal...

The purpose of this paper is to discuss possible explanations to the variations in Swedish fertility rate. We are primarily interested in economic and social conditions. The results differ but it seems as changes in number of female students and number of divorces (in relation to marriages) may...

There is growing concern in Europe over the impact of globalization on high and evenly shared living standards. These concerns have often surfaced in response to falling labor income shares in aggregate national income data. However, these data may tell little about the underlying distribution...

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience...