Workplace Breastfeeding Legislation and Female Labor Force Participation in the United States

Fuente: arXiv
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Autore principale: Hatamyar, Julia
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2022
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author Hatamyar, Julia
author_facet Hatamyar, Julia
contents This paper studies the effects of legislation mandating the provision of workplace breastfeeding amenities on the labor force participation of women in the United States. Using both the American Community Survey and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, in a staggered difference-in-differences framework, I find evidence that workplace breastfeeding legislation significantly increases the likelihood of female labor force participation (FLFP) across both datasets and multiple specifications, by at least 1.5 percentage points. The timing and magnitude of the post-law increases in FLFP differ across the two datasets. I bolster the analyses using the CDC's Infant Feeding Practices Survey and the Childhood and Adoption Supplement to the PSID, which further suggest an influence of the laws on breastfeeding women. Heterogeneity analysis indicates the presence of substantial treatment effect heterogeneity across subgroups, but the findings are specific to the separate datasets. Across both datasets, the legislation appears to be more effective in states where average pre-law FLFP was comparatively low. I also find evidence of a negative spillover effect, whereby women without children and women with older children may have reduced their LFP in response to the legislation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2209_05916
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Workplace Breastfeeding Legislation and Female Labor Force Participation in the United States
Hatamyar, Julia
General Economics
Economics
This paper studies the effects of legislation mandating the provision of workplace breastfeeding amenities on the labor force participation of women in the United States. Using both the American Community Survey and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, in a staggered difference-in-differences framework, I find evidence that workplace breastfeeding legislation significantly increases the likelihood of female labor force participation (FLFP) across both datasets and multiple specifications, by at least 1.5 percentage points. The timing and magnitude of the post-law increases in FLFP differ across the two datasets. I bolster the analyses using the CDC's Infant Feeding Practices Survey and the Childhood and Adoption Supplement to the PSID, which further suggest an influence of the laws on breastfeeding women. Heterogeneity analysis indicates the presence of substantial treatment effect heterogeneity across subgroups, but the findings are specific to the separate datasets. Across both datasets, the legislation appears to be more effective in states where average pre-law FLFP was comparatively low. I also find evidence of a negative spillover effect, whereby women without children and women with older children may have reduced their LFP in response to the legislation.
title Workplace Breastfeeding Legislation and Female Labor Force Participation in the United States
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.05916