The effect of New York State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program on birth outcomes

IF 2.2 3区医学 Q2 ECONOMICS

Economics & Human Biology Pub Date : 2025-04-11 DOI:10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101490

Katherine Engel, Taryn W. Morrissey

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs provide material resources and time away from the labor force around the time of a child’s birth. Past research indicates that the programs improve maternal and child health and may increase fertility. To date, 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed PFML laws, with varying lengths of leave, eligibility, job protections, and benefit levels. Programs in states other than California remain understudied. We examined the effects of New York State’s (NYS) PFML program on birth outcomes using difference-in-differences (DiD) models with data from the Centers for Disease and Prevention National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) on the universe of U.S. births from 2013 to 2019. We compared trends in multiple measures of birthweight and gestational age at birth between NYS and states lacking PFML benefits during this time period, exploring mechanisms and how markers of disadvantage moderate effects. Results indicate that NYS’s PFML program led to small decreases in gestational age and birthweight. We also find evidence that the program increased fertility, partially via reductions in fetal deaths. Findings suggest that PFML may increase live births, with these additional infants driving the observed declines in birth outcomes.

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纽约州的带薪家庭和医疗休假计划对生育结果的影响

带薪家庭和医疗假（PFML）计划在孩子出生前后提供物质资源和远离劳动力的时间。过去的研究表明，这些项目改善了孕产妇和儿童的健康，并可能提高生育率。到目前为止，13个州和哥伦比亚特区已经通过了PFML法律，规定了不同的休假时间、资格、工作保护和福利水平。加州以外的其他州的项目仍未得到充分研究。我们使用差异中的差异（DiD）模型，利用疾病和预防中心国家生命统计系统（NVSS）对2013年至2019年美国出生人口的数据，研究了纽约州PFML计划对出生结果的影响。在此期间，我们比较了纽约州和缺乏PFML福利的州的多种出生体重和胎龄指标的趋势，探讨了机制以及不利因素如何调节影响。结果表明，NYS的PFML计划导致胎龄和出生体重的小幅下降。我们还发现有证据表明，该计划提高了生育率，部分原因是减少了胎儿死亡。研究结果表明，PFML可能会增加活产，这些额外的婴儿导致观察到的出生结果下降。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Economics & Human Biology 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

12.00%

发文量

审稿时长

61 days

期刊介绍： Economics and Human Biology is devoted to the exploration of the effect of socio-economic processes on human beings as biological organisms. Research covered in this (quarterly) interdisciplinary journal is not bound by temporal or geographic limitations.