What are the true economic effects of paid leave? Real-life experiments are underway in three states that already have operational paid leave programs: California, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Their experiences — particularly California’s, where the policy is a decade old — offer some answers. (New Jersey’s started in 2009 and Rhode Island’s last year.) 
Economists have found that with paid leave, more people take time off, particularly low-income parents who may have taken no leave or dropped out of the work force after the birth. Paid leave raises the probability that mothers return to employment later, and then work more hours and earn higher wages. Paid leave does not necessarily help businesses — but it does not seem to hurt them, either.
“For workers who use these programs, they are extremely beneficial,” said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. “And the business lobby’s predictions about how these programs are really a big burden on employers are not accurate.”
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The Economic Benefits of Paid Parental Leave – NYTimes.com.
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