Maternity Leave and Long-Run Health Outcomes of Children

This study evaluates the long-term effects of early childcare on children’s health using Russia’s expansion of maternity benefits in the 1980s. The program was rolled out in stages; first in November of 1981 to less populated Eastern regions of the country, then to the remaining areas in Russia a year later. Prior to the reform women were entitled to 56 days of paid leave and a year of unpaid leave with job security. The new program allowed working women and students to receive one year of partially paid leave and another six months of unpaid leave. In the Soviet Union women comprised half of the labor force and were expected to return to work after their leave, which ensured high eligibility and participation rates of the program. This empirical analysis uses a difference-in-difference framework and Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey data from 1996 to 2014 to identify children born several years before and after the program and obtain information on their education level, wages, insurance status and parents’ characteristics. While I do not find that children born after the program rollout have fewer health issues or report being healthier, there is evidence that they are less likely to develop chronic kidney diseases. The reduction is over 80 percent of the treated group mean and the effect can be seen in younger and grown-up children alike. No effect was found for other chronic diseases or behavioral outcomes such as smoking or alcohol consumption.