This study evaluates the relationships between maternity leave duration, female and male labor force participation, and aggregate productivity in emerging countries. We build a comprehensive maternity leave data set for a panel of emerging countries at annual frequency, augmenting publicly available data on maternity leave with narrative evidence that identifies the exact dates when legislative changes to maternity leave policies were enacted and enforced. Maternity leave is associated with positive but limited effects on female labor force participation, but it is associated with significant increases in male labor force participation. There is some evidence that increases in maternity leave duration are associated with decreases in productivity in the short run, primarily driven by the duration channel where long leave leads to temporary declines in productivity, but there are no significant adverse effects at longer horizons.

这项研究评估了产假的持续时间，男女劳动力的参与以及新兴国家总生产率之间的关系。我们以每年一次的频率为一组新兴国家建立一个综合的产假数据集，并用叙述性证据增加可公开获得的产假数据，这些证据可确定制定和实施产假政策的立法变更的确切日期。产假与女性劳动力参与的积极但有限的影响有关，但与男性劳动力参与的显着增加有关。有证据表明，产假时间的增加与短期内生产率的下降有关，