Resources, Time, and Family: Expanding Parental Leave Policy

Abstract

This paper seeks to summarize and analyze the available evidence about the benefits and costs of workplace flexibility for low-wage workers and their children, in particular, in order to further the design of a national work-family policy. My focus is parental leave, as it is one of the most prevalent work-family policies in other developed countries, but I also address a variety of other policies because their benefits and costs are not mutually exclusive. First, I give an overview of the availability of workplace flexibility in the US and abroad. I follow with the benefits of workplace flexibility for children's development and then discuss the position of workplace flexibility in the market and the potentials for policy to correct current market imperfections. I conclude by proposing further steps for policy and research in this field. [From Introduction]