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Did California Paid Family Leave Impact Infant Health?
Ariel Marek Pihl1, Gaetano Basso2
1Department of Economics at the University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 640, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Insights
California Paid Family Leave (PFL) reduced infant hospitalizations, particularly for conditions benefiting from increased parental care and breastfeeding. This study provides evidence for the positive impact of paid parental leave on infant health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Economics
- Pediatrics
Background:
- The impact of paid parental leave on infant health remains under-researched.
- Existing policies vary significantly, necessitating studies on specific programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effect of California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) program on infant hospitalizations.
- To determine if PFL influences infant health outcomes through improved childcare and breastfeeding.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a differences-in-differences approach.
- Analyzed a full census of infant hospitalizations in California and control states.
- Compared admission rates before and after PFL implementation.
Main Results:
- Observed a significant decline in overall infant hospital admissions post-PFL.
- The reduction was most pronounced for conditions potentially impacted by enhanced childcare and breastfeeding.
- Infant hospitalizations for unrelated conditions showed no significant change.
Conclusions:
- California's Paid Family Leave (PFL) policy is associated with improved infant health outcomes.
- Paid parental leave may reduce infant hospitalizations by facilitating better childcare and breastfeeding practices.
- Findings support the expansion of paid parental leave policies for public health benefits.
Abstract:
The effects of paid parental leave policies on infant health have yet to be established. In this paper we investigate these effects by exploiting the introduction of California Paid Family Leave (PFL), the first program in the U.S. that specifically provides working parents with paid time off for bonding with a newborn. We measure health using the full census of infant hospitalizations in California and a set of control states, and implement a differences-in-differences approach. Our results suggest a decline in infant admissions, which is concentrated among those causes that are potentially affected by closer childcare (and to a lesser extent breastfeeding). Other admissions that are unlikely to be affected by parental leave do not exhibit the same pattern.
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