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The Elterngeld Reform and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes - A Study of Sector-Specific Differences

Thurfjell, Elin LU (2025) NEKP01 20251
Department of Economics
Abstract
Focusing on sector-specific differences, this thesis studies the long-term effects of the Elterngeld reform of the German parental insurance on female labor market participation. With data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the analysis is based on a cohort comparison between first-time mothers giving birth during the period 2006-2008. Due to limited data, the study focuses on the labor market outcomes of the mothers four to six years after giving birth. The regression model is estimated with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), which shows no long-term effects on labor market participation among mothers. However, the results indicate that mothers working in the public sector should have been relatively more adversely affected by the reform... (More)
Focusing on sector-specific differences, this thesis studies the long-term effects of the Elterngeld reform of the German parental insurance on female labor market participation. With data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the analysis is based on a cohort comparison between first-time mothers giving birth during the period 2006-2008. Due to limited data, the study focuses on the labor market outcomes of the mothers four to six years after giving birth. The regression model is estimated with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), which shows no long-term effects on labor market participation among mothers. However, the results indicate that mothers working in the public sector should have been relatively more adversely affected by the reform than mothers working in the private sector. The study demonstrates that reforms aiming to impact family policy can affect different parts of the labor market differently, and emphasizes the importance of considering institutional differences in policy design. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Thurfjell, Elin LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKP01 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Elterngeld reform, parental insurance, female labor market participation, public vs private sector employment
language
English
id
9211489
date added to LUP
2025-09-12 11:19:38
date last changed
2025-09-12 11:19:38
@misc{9211489,
  abstract     = {{Focusing on sector-specific differences, this thesis studies the long-term effects of the Elterngeld reform of the German parental insurance on female labor market participation. With data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the analysis is based on a cohort comparison between first-time mothers giving birth during the period 2006-2008. Due to limited data, the study focuses on the labor market outcomes of the mothers four to six years after giving birth. The regression model is estimated with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), which shows no long-term effects on labor market participation among mothers. However, the results indicate that mothers working in the public sector should have been relatively more adversely affected by the reform than mothers working in the private sector. The study demonstrates that reforms aiming to impact family policy can affect different parts of the labor market differently, and emphasizes the importance of considering institutional differences in policy design.}},
  author       = {{Thurfjell, Elin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Elterngeld Reform and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes - A Study of Sector-Specific Differences}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}