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Abstract
1
Since the introduction of parental leave in Sweden a more gender-equal
division of such leave has been targeted. To this end, a number of
strategies have been applied, and three major reforms have been
introduced. In 1995 one month was reserved for each parent, implying that
the month was forfeited if not used by the same parent. The reservation of
one month was followed by another month in 2002. In 2008, a gender
equality bonus was introduced, meaning that tax credits were given to
parents who shared the leave equally. This study investigates and
compares the effects of these reforms on the division of parental leave. The
comparison is made by means of a natural experiment approach, using
control and treatment groups with parents of children born just before and
after the introduction of each reform. We use register data from the
Swedish Social Insurance Agency in which parental leave use by all parents
residing in Sweden is included. The results indicate a strong effect from the
first reserved month, a more modest but clear effect from the second
reserved month and, so far, no effect from the gender equality bonus.
Keywords:
Family benefits, parental leave, policy evaluation, natural
experiment
JEL classification:
J16, J18, J48
1
The authors are grateful to seminar participants at the Stockholm University
Demography Unit, the Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate, the European
Population Conference in Vienna, and Social Policy and Family Dynamics in Europe,
workshop in Stockholm, for useful comments on earlier versions of this paper.
