How Can Paid Maternity Leave Boost Female Entrepreneurship?

This paper reveals that providing mothers with a higher maternity leave allowance raises their probability of becoming self-employed after childbirth. Using administrative data from Belgium between 2002-2015 and a Regression Kink Design, I estimate that a 900-euro increase in allowance raises the pr...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Fontenay, Sebastien Renaud Ludovic|||0000-0003-2279-5660
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/67645
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/67645
https://dx.doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0123-12727R2
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Maternity leave allowance
Self-employment
Fertility
Regression kink
J13
J16
J22
Economía
Economics
Descripción
Sumario:This paper reveals that providing mothers with a higher maternity leave allowance raises their probability of becoming self-employed after childbirth. Using administrative data from Belgium between 2002-2015 and a Regression Kink Design, I estimate that a 900-euro increase in allowance raises the probability of becoming self-employed by six percentage points. Regarding self-employed mothers? incentives, I find evidence that the allowance might lift financial constraints for those residing in provinces with poor access to banks. I also reveal a positive effect on higher-order births and argue that self-employed mothers might seek flexible work arrangements when they worked in less family-friendly sectors.