German plans to scrap leave pay for higher income earners to help meet the finance ministry's 2024 budget plan have sparked renewed discussion of research conducted at Queen Mary.
Dr Anna Raute's 2019 paper "Can Financial Incentives Reduce the Baby Gap? Evidence from a Reform in Maternity Leave Benefits" assessed the impact of earnings-dependent maternity leave on fertility and the baby gap between highly educated (high-earning) and less-educated (low-earning) women. The paper found that earnings-dependent maternity leave benefits could successfully reduce the fertility rate disparity related to education and earnings.
The findings informed an article in the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as well as being discussed on a prominent political talk show broadcast on Das Erste.
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/elterngeld-warum-sich-die-leistung-auch-bei-akademikern-lohnt-19017927.html (Paywall, German) https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/anne-will/naechster-ampelstreit-wie-viel-geld-sollen-familien-bekommen/das-erste/Y3JpZDovL2Rhc2Vyc3RlLm5kci5kZS8xMjQ2XzIwMjMtMDctMDktMjEtNDU (German)
Dr Raute can be heard discussing her work on the FAZ weekly podcast.
https://www.faz.net/podcasts/f-a-z-podcast-fuer-deutschland/wie-klug-sind-die-sparplaene-beim-elterngeld-hoch-emotionale-debatte-19029381.html (German)