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The Impact of Child Disability on Parental Outcomes : Evidence From Sweden

Asuman, Derek LU orcid ; Gerdtham, Ulf-G LU orcid ; Alriksson-Schmidt, Ann I LU ; Nordin, Martin LU and Jarl, Johan LU orcid (2025) In Health Economics (United Kingdom)
Abstract

Parents of children with disabilities may face higher labor-market penalties given the extra care and support required. Using Swedish administrative data, we focus on first-born children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) to estimate impacts on parental labor-market outcomes. We apply an event study approach to identify effects up to 10 years after the birth of the child. Our results show that employment and earnings of mothers decrease in the short run and increase in the long run whereas for fathers, a marginal decrease is observed in the short run. The effects differ by severity of the disability, with mothers of children with severe impairments driving the increases in the long run, whilst mothers of children with mild impairments appear to... (More)

Parents of children with disabilities may face higher labor-market penalties given the extra care and support required. Using Swedish administrative data, we focus on first-born children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) to estimate impacts on parental labor-market outcomes. We apply an event study approach to identify effects up to 10 years after the birth of the child. Our results show that employment and earnings of mothers decrease in the short run and increase in the long run whereas for fathers, a marginal decrease is observed in the short run. The effects differ by severity of the disability, with mothers of children with severe impairments driving the increases in the long run, whilst mothers of children with mild impairments appear to experience a penalty. Further, transfers and benefits from the Swedish social insurance system compensate parents for some of the potential costs associated with caring for a child with CP.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
cerebral palsy, children, disability, earnings, employment, event study, labor market, Sweden
in
Health Economics (United Kingdom)
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105010701019
  • pmid:40658362
ISSN
1057-9230
DOI
10.1002/hec.70017
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cc8d50b4-9f05-4899-9861-c300b1f25cf8
date added to LUP
2025-07-24 16:59:30
date last changed
2025-08-05 03:21:56
@article{cc8d50b4-9f05-4899-9861-c300b1f25cf8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Parents of children with disabilities may face higher labor-market penalties given the extra care and support required. Using Swedish administrative data, we focus on first-born children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) to estimate impacts on parental labor-market outcomes. We apply an event study approach to identify effects up to 10 years after the birth of the child. Our results show that employment and earnings of mothers decrease in the short run and increase in the long run whereas for fathers, a marginal decrease is observed in the short run. The effects differ by severity of the disability, with mothers of children with severe impairments driving the increases in the long run, whilst mothers of children with mild impairments appear to experience a penalty. Further, transfers and benefits from the Swedish social insurance system compensate parents for some of the potential costs associated with caring for a child with CP.</p>}},
  author       = {{Asuman, Derek and Gerdtham, Ulf-G and Alriksson-Schmidt, Ann I and Nordin, Martin and Jarl, Johan}},
  issn         = {{1057-9230}},
  keywords     = {{cerebral palsy; children; disability; earnings; employment; event study; labor market; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Health Economics (United Kingdom)}},
  title        = {{The Impact of Child Disability on Parental Outcomes : Evidence From Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hec.70017}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/hec.70017}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}