育儿假福利与性别不平等:来自高收入母亲福利上限的证据
Parental Leave Benefits and Gender Inequality: Evidence from a Benefits Cap for High-Earning Mothers
The Economic Journal · 2025 · [{"name": "Sevrin Waights", "affiliation": ["Cal Poly Humboldt", "Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin"]}]
中文摘要
摘要 本文利用德国全部纳税申报数据, 采用回归扭结设计, 估计母亲育儿假津贴金额对夫妻内部收入不平等的影响。本文借助津贴上限来识别其对高收入女性的因果效应——这一群体的收入不平等尤为突出。较低的母亲津贴金额会缩小性别收入差距, 且这一效应在津贴发放期结束之后依然持续, 至少延续至生育后九年。较长期的影响主要由生育前母亲收入高于其伴侣的夫妻所驱动。模拟结果表明, 将津贴金额降低10%可使样本夫妻的长期生育惩罚从63%降至46%。
Abstract
Abstract I use the universe of tax returns in Germany and a regression kink design to estimate the impacts of mothers’ parental leave benefit amounts on within-couple earnings inequality. I make use of a benefits cap to estimate the causal impacts for high-earning women: a group for which earnings inequality is particularly large. A lower mother's benefit amount results in a reduced gender gap in earnings that persists beyond the benefit period for at least nine years after the birth. The longer-term impacts are driven by couples where the mother earned more than her partner pre-birth. Simulations suggest that a 10% reduction in the benefit amount could reduce long-run child penalties in sample couples from 63% to 46%.