Income and Parental Leave over Time – Period and Life-Cycle Effects

Helen Eriksson, Stockholm University

Earlier cross-sectional studies of the effect of income on parental leave usage in Sweden have been inconclusive. We argue that this is partly because of the cross-sectional approach that does not take period effects into account and partly because of a lack of sufficient data for measuring income. We identify several plausible reasons why the effect of income changes over time. Both internal changes, such as those within the policy design, and external changes, such as economic recession, likely moderated the relationship. Also, effects may change over the life-course. Using Swedish register data with parental leave uptake for all children born in Sweden from 1994 to 2007 and two income measures in which one has not been used before in studies on parental leave, we will disentangle the relationship between income and parental leave uptake. This empirical study also contributes to theoretical developments within the literature.