The seminar titled 'The Impact of Parental Leave on Labour Market Outcomes' was presented by Dr. Heather Dickey and Dr. Corina Miller, Queen's Business School, Queen's University Belfast. It took place on Thursday 29 February 2024 at 15.30 in the ICTU offices, 45-47 Donegal Street, Belfast, BT1 2FG.
Please find the presentation from the seminar, and also the video.
Details of seminar:
Dr. Heather Dickey and Dr. Corina Miller, Queen's Business School, Queen's University Belfast presented on a series of reports that they wrote for the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland. The link to the website with the reports. Subsequently, a discussion was opened to the floor where the chairperson, Dr. Lisa Wilson, NERI senior economist presented questions to Heather and Corina.
Abstract:
One of the most pressing work-family issues confronting men and women is how to balance work and home time in the first few months following the birth of a child. As a work-family policy, parental leave is seen as one way to resolve the tension created between labour market participation and childrearing, and it is currently high on the political agenda in many industrialised countries.
This research seeks to assess the relationship between parental leave and labour market outcomes by investigating the determinants of leave-taking and leave duration. We explore: (i) the probability that a parent takes parental leave; (ii) what influences the decision to switch to part-time employment as a coping strategy; and (iii) how taking parental leave impacts upon wages.
The policy context is the persistently high levels of economic inactivity in Northern Ireland and the vision to promote inclusivity and sustainability within the Northern Irish economy. It also fits within the broader context of declining fertility and ageing populations in many Western economies. Our research highlights that the key elements of a parental leave policy in terms of generosity and length are crucial in determining how successful these policies are in achieving their social and economic goals.
Biographies of the presenters:
Dr. Heather Dickey is a Reader in Economics at Queen's University Belfast, having previously worked at the University of Aberdeen. Her research interests lie at the intersection of labour and regional economics.
Heather is also a Fellow of the Global Labor Organisation, which is a leading global research and policy network on labor, demographics and human resources.
Dr. Corina Miller is research fellow with QBS, with research interest in areas of welfare economics, labour market and health economics (including epidemiology). She mostly works with large administrative data and takes a keen interest in policy advocacy issues surrounding disability, economic inactivity, and maternal employment.