Parental leave policies and socio-economic gaps in child development: Evidence from a substantial benefit reform using administrative data

This paper examines the effects of substantial changes in paid parental leave on child development and socio-economic development gaps. The authors exploit a German reform from 2007 that both expanded paid leave in the first year and removed paid leave in the second year following childbirth. Higher-income households benefited relatively more from the reform than low-income households. They use administrative data from mandatory school entrance examinations containing detailed child development assessments at age six within a difference-in-differences approach. Their precise and robust estimates reveal no effects of the changes in parental leave benefits on child development across various socio-economic groups, and consequently no effects on socio-economic development gaps

Reproducibility Project: Psychology

Reproducibility is a defining feature of science, but the extent to which it characterizes current research is unknown. We conducted replications of 100 experimental and correlational studies published in three psychology journals using high-powered designs and original materials when available