Do Regional Policies Influence the Use of Parental Leave?

This article analyses the impact of the policies implemented by five Autonomous Communities -- Navarre, Castile and Leon, the Basque Country, Castile-La Mancha and La Rioja -- on parental leave use. The research adopts a quasi experimental design, which is known in public policy evaluation as difference-in-difference. The analysis is based on a subsample which stems from the «Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales» (wave 2006), and is comprised of 94,493 people who were entitled to parental leave in the 1996-2006 period. The results show a positive effect of Navarre and Castile and Leon's policies and confirm the relevance of benefit levels versus other design characteristics. However, none of these policies have an effect on men's use of parental leave, even in the case of those Autonomous Communities that have implemented positive discrimination measures. This article analyses the impact of the policies implemented by five Autonomous Communities -- Navarre, Castile and Leon, the Basque Country, Castile-La Mancha and La Rioja -- on parental leave use. The research adopts a quasi experimental design, which is known in public policy evaluation as difference-in-difference. The analysis is based on a subsample which stems from the «Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales» (wave 2006), and is comprised of 94,493 people who were entitled to parental leave in the 1996-2006 period. The results show a positive effect of Navarre and Castile and Leon's policies and confirm the relevance of benefit levels versus other design characteristics. However, none of these policies have an effect on men's use of parental leave, even in the case of those Autonomous Communities that have implemented positive discrimination measures. INSET: 71;. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]