2024 NBER Working Paper: Paid Sick Leave Allows Parents to Spend More Time with Kids
A new NBER working paper ("Paid Sick Leave and Childcare" by Johanna Catherine Maclean and Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia) reaffirms findings suggesting that paid sick leave mandates improve the well-being of parents and children by allowing them to better balance work and family responsibilities.
Key Findings:
Parents spend 4.9% more time on primary childcare after paid sick leave mandates are implemented.
Face time with children increases by 3.4%.
Effects are more significant for mothers with young children and fathers with school-aged children.
Mothers spend more time on direct care for young children post-mandate.
Fathers increase supervisory time with older children.
Parents with young children spend more time on leisure and sleeping.
Parents work 13 fewer minutes per day on average after mandates are implemented.
Time spent on primary childcare increases by 3.8 minutes per day.
Face time with children rises by 10.5 minutes daily.
Background Information: Unlike most developed countries, the U.S. lacks a federal paid sick leave policy. As of October 2023, 15 states and the District of Columbia have adopted mandates providing up to 7 days of paid leave annually that can be used for family responsibilities and healthcare.
About the paper: Researchers analyzed time diary data from the American Time Use Survey for over 77,000 parents between 2004 and 2022, comparing states before and after implementing paid sick leave mandates. Researchers note limitations, including potential bias from using state-level policy variation with data not designed to be state-representative.
The study used a difference-in-differences methodology.
Results were consistent across various robustness checks and alternative specifications.
Effects were driven by weekday changes, consistent with parents taking time off work for childcare.
The bottom line: Paid sick leave mandates help parents better balance work and family responsibilities, especially for routine childcare needs and responding to children's illnesses or school closures.