UBS Center Newsletter July 2018

14 Healthy mothers and babies: definitely a precondi- tion for a good start in life. But does employment during pregnancy and the first year(s) of a baby’s life impact this? While pregnancy protection and parental leave policies and laws have been in place for a long time and with large differences between countries, there is little empirical evidence on these effects. Obviously, additional clarity on health outcomes of mother and child are relevant for the optimal design of family policies. In my two research projects, I assess the impact of three policy reforms that each changed the length of parental leave in Austria, and how these impact the health of mothers and children. For example, mothers who gave birth in June 1990 had a paren- tal leave of one year; from July 1990 this was ex- tended to two years (and with other reforms in 1996 and 2000 shortened to 1.5 and extended to 2.5 years, respectively). These sharp cutoffs with respect to the birth month – basically, a random allocation – allow us to compare similar mothers on both sides of the threshold. Disadvantaged mothers benefit from longer leave Preliminary findings suggest that mothers’ health improves when paid parental leave increases from one to two years. However, it also seems that parental leave can last too long, and actually de- creases maternal mental health: This is the result of a comparison of mothers who could stay on parental leave for 2.5 vs 1.5 years. This effect pat- tern varies for different types of mothers and by characteristics of the child, meaning that mothers with unhealthy children (e.g. preterm births) con- tinue to benefit from longer leave durations. Working during pregnancy per se does not affect a newborn’s health In another project based on the same data, I con- clude that employment during pregnancy with the second child does not affect the newborn’s health, irrespective of characteristics of the mother, such as her socioeconomic status or the industry in which she works. Both projects are key for designing family policies with multifold goals such as gender equity, fertility, and child development. The latter is especially interesting because it affects human capital, a key production factor, where identifying the reasons for inequalities in early childhood can help design smarter policies in the future. What comes next? I will present the results of these studies at confer- ences and PhD workshops. I will also go on a short research visit for two months to LSE, where I hope to exchange ideas and get some more input. Employment effects on the health of newborns and mothers SCHOLARSHIPS Senior scholarship holder Caroline Chuard. How does working dur- ing pregnancy affect the health of newborns? And how does the length of parental leave affect the health of new mothers? Chuard Caroline

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