京都大学 大学院経済学研究科・経済学部

(Title):

"Mandated Paternity Leave and Fertility: Evidence from South Korea" (with Jungmin Lee)

Abstract:

Low fertility is a pressing concern in many advanced economies, particularly those where gender gaps in work and caregiving persist. Recent research highlights that fertility increasingly depends on whether men can credibly share childcare responsibilities. This paper examines whether mandating paternity leave can raise fertility by institutionalizing fathers’ caregiving.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 We study a 2017 company-wide mandate at a large South Korean conglomerate requiring all male employees to take one month of fully paid paternity leave. Using newly linked administrative data and an event-study design, we find that the mandate sharply increased leave uptake, lengthened leave durations, and generated spillovers among fathers not directly subject to the policy.              The probability of having a child rose by about 15 percent, with the largest effects among dual-earner couples and those with higher-earning, longer-tenured wives. Wives’ employment remained stable, indicating that fertility gains did not come at the cost of women’s careers. Complementary survey evidence shows more supportive workplace norms toward fathers’ leave-taking and greater paternal involvement in childcare at treated firms. These findings demonstrate that mandating short paternal leave can normalize fathers’ caregiving and promote fertility without undermining women’s employment.