Marianne Sundström

Family Policy and After-Birth Employment Among New Mothers – A Comparison of Finland, Norway and Sweden

This article compares the employmentpatterns of women after first and second birthin Finland, Norway and Sweden during 1972–1992,focusing on the impact of parental leave andchildcare programs on the transitions tofull-time and part-time work. The resultsunanimously point to the great importance ofthe programs. Women who are entitled to a paidleave have a much higher overall employmententry rate during the first three yearsfollowing birth than non-eligible women.But since mothers tend to use their fullentitlement, the higher entry rates are largelyconcentrated to the period after leave expiry,except in Sweden where entitled mothers havehigher entry rates also during the leaveperiod. This is probably a result of thegreater flexibility of the Swedish program. Inall countries, leave extensions delay thereturn to work among entitled mothers andreduce their excess entry rate. Moreover, theFinnish home-care allowance system is found toreduce employment entry. On the whole, thissuggests that very long leave entitlements andchild-minding benefit programs could havenegative consequences for womens career andearnings potentials and may preserve an unequaldivision of labour in the family.

Maternal Employment in Scandinavia: A Comparison of the After-Birth Employment Activity of Norwegian and Swedish Women

A striking characteristic of recent Western labour market trends is the rise in employment among mothers of very young children. So far, few studies have analysed the impact of public policies on employment rates of young mothers. In this study we address this issue by comparing two similar countries, Norway and Sweden, which have the same set of policies with slight variations, using data sets with similar designs. We analyse rates of re-entry into paid work after first birth for mothers in 1968–88 by means of hazard regression. One important finding is that the right to paid maternity leave with jobsecurity greatly speeds up the return to work.

Parental Separation and Children's Educational Attainment: A Siblings Analysis on Swedish Register Data

This paper analyses whether the commonly found negative relationship between parental separation in childhood and educational outcomes is causal or due mainly to selection. We use data on about 100,000 Swedish full biological siblings, born in 1948-63, and perform cross-section and sibling-difference estimations. Outcomes are measured as educational attainment in 1996. Our cross-section analysis shows the expected negative and significant relationship, while the relationship is not significant, though precisely estimated, in the sibling-difference analysis. This finding was robust to the sensitivity tests performed and is consistent with selection, rather than causation, being the explanation for the negative relationship.

The Growth in Full-Time Work Among Swedish Women in the 1980s

Using panel data from the Swedish Labor Force Surveys, this article analyzes the shift from part-time to full-time work among Swedish women in the 1980s This change occurred among all groups of women Two main sources of the shift were found First, since 1983 more women have increased them hours from part time to full time than have reduced them Second, non-employed women have become more inclined to enter full- time rather than part-time work Expanded public childcare facilities are likely to have stimulatcd the rise in hours worked, especially among mothers of young school children The prolonging ot the parental teave period is found to have controbuted slightly to the growth in full-time work. while change, in the age-structure had no impact To account for the shift among all women, I point to the tax reform carried out in 1983 and the subsequent years in combination with a high level of labor demand Marginal tax rates for full-time workers were reduced and those tor part-time workers raised. while average taxes were raised slightlvUsing panel data from the Swedish Labor Force Surveys, this article analyzes the shift from part-time to full-time work among Swedish women in the 1980s This change occurred among all groups of women Two main sources of the shift were found First, since 1983 more women have increased them hours from part time to full time than have reduced them Second, non-employed women have become more inclined to enter full- time rather than part-time work Expanded public childcare facilities are likely to have stimulatcd the rise in hours worked, especially among mothers of young school children The prolonging ot the parental teave period is found to have controbuted slightly to the growth in full-time work. while change, in the age-structure had no impact To account for the shift among all women, I point to the tax reform carried out in 1983 and the subsequent years in combination with a high level of labor demand Marginal tax rates for full-time workers were reduced and those tor part-time workers raised. while aver...