Economic and Social Consequences of Maternity Protection: a cross country analysis

This study is devoted to the investigation of the social and economic

consequences of maternity protection all over the world. Its proponents often

state that maternity protection helps to improve the health of children and

eliminate gender discrimination in the labor market. Moreover, maternity leave

entitlements are designed so that they reduce to some extent the cost of children

for women, influencing in such a way fertility rate. Maternity leave laws have

similar design in more than 100 countries. The findings of this study suggest that

the relationship between maternity leave duration and variables under

consideration (fertility rate, infant mortality rate, and female-male labor market

differentials) is significantly different across country groupings. This raises doubts

as to the practicability of imposing similar policies without embodying regional

and cultural differences in their structure.