Schedule Flexibility, Family Friendly Policies and Absence*.

Using establishment data, we show a strong association between flexible schedules and reduced absence rates even after controlling for other family friendly policies also thought to reduce absence. The evidence suggests that the other polices, financial support for caregivers and family leave for caregivers, play a weaker role in explaining absence. The primacy of the role of schedule flexibility remains in a variety of robustness exercises including an effort to account for endogeneity. The size of the influence also shows heterogeneity as it emerges as larger in female dominated workplaces. The estimates help to inform current policy deliberations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]