Abstract

Does public policies affect norms in society? Traditionally, economists have analyzed public policies almost exclusively through their effect on (economic) incentives, but in the context of child rearing, incentives appear to explain only a minor part of the behavior of parents (Kleven et al., 2019, 2021). Earmarked leave is explicitly motivated as a tool to change and overcome traditional gender norms. In this ongoing project, we ask to what extent earmarked leave affects parental norms, preferences and attitudes towards gender equality in the short and long run? Whether earmarked leave alleviates non-standard constraints such as concerns about breaking social norms and perceived career costs of leave? And whether earmarked leave imposes costs on parents due to, e.g., less flexibility in the parental leave system? We address these questions by combining rich register data with a population wide survey of beliefs and perceptions about gender norms and parental leave of new parents running across a two-year window around the introduction of earmarked leave in Denmark in August 2022.

Paper joint with:
Henrik Kleven, Princeton University & CEBI
Camille Landais, London School of Economics
Anne Sophie Lassen, Copenhagen Business School
Philip Rosenbaum, Copenhagen Business School
Herdis Steingrimsdottir, Copenhagen Business School