Parenthood and Productivity (with Diogo Britto, Bruno Ferman, Alexandre Fonseca, Breno Sampaio, Lucas Warwar)  

[Working Paper]

Presented at the 45th Meeting of the Brazilian Econometric Society, 2023.

Abstract:  Does parenthood impair workers’ on-the-job productivity? We study this question and its implications for understanding the child penalties in employment observed for mothers. We focus on judges, a profession that helps overcome key empirical challenges: output can be measured precisely, it can be observed for all workers before and after childbirth because virtually no parent leaves the profession, and workloads are evenly distributed, limiting scope for selective task allocation. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find no evidence that mothers’ – and fathers’ – output declines during pregnancy or after they return from parental leave, and we can rule out moderate declines. We validate this result using a broad set of measures capturing both the quantity and quality of judicial work, and we document similar patterns for self-employed labor lawyers. Our findings show that motherhood need not reduce on-the-job productivity and suggest that, at least in some contexts, child penalties in employment may not be driven by lasting declines in on-the-job productivity.

Parental Leave, Family and Firms (with Diogo Britto, Alexandre Fonseca, Breno Sampaio)

[UNU-WIDER Working Paper 2025/71]

Presented at the LACEA Annual Meeting, 2025 

Abstract:  We investigate the effects of maternity and paternity leave on families and firms. Drawing on rich administrative data linking generations in Brazil and leveraging a policy reform that expanded parental leave, we evaluate the impacts on parents, their spouses, and children, as well as the broader consequences for firms. Our analysis spans labor market outcomes, fertility, health, and education, offering new evidence on the multifaceted effects of parental leave in a developing country context. We find that mothers eligible for extended leave experience a 6.33 p.p. increase in post-birth employment and a 56.63% rise in earnings, with no significant labor effects for fathers. Regarding fertility decisions, paternity leave accelerates subsequent births among fathers and their partners. Female spouses of treated fathers face a sharper, though temporary, child penalty that fades within two years. Despite the additional time spent with children, we find no evidence of mental health improvements for either parents or spouses. For children, the policy boosts early education enrollment by 11.57 p.p. and improves short-term health during the first 12 months of life. On the firm side, we find sharp contrasts between large and small employers. Large firms experience a modest decline in the share of female workers but an increase in women’s representation among top earners, driven primarily by childless women, suggesting a reallocation of career opportunities. Small firms, by contrast, face steep drops in female employment and earnings, reflecting their limited capacity to absorb the costs of extended leave. We further show that firms receiving fiscal compensation to offset the cost of the policy—through tax deductions—maintain or improve female employment, earnings shares, and representation in top positions. Those actively claiming these deductions not only avoid negative impacts but even show net gains for female participation and career advancement.