Causal Effects of Paternity Leave on Children and Parents

Abstract Reserving a share of the parental leave period for fathers is considered necessary in order to induce fathers to take leave, and to increase men's participation in child‐rearing. We investigate how a parental leave reform directed towards fathers affected leave‐taking, and, in turn, children's and parents' long‐term outcomes. A paternal leave quota greatly increases the share of men taking paternity leave. We find evidence that children's school performance improves as a result, particularly in families where the father has higher education than the mother. We find no evidence that paternity leave counters the traditional allocation of parents' labor supply.