abstract: 'Scholars of comparative family policy research have raised concerns

  about potential negative outcomes of generous family policies, an issue

  known as the ``welfare state paradox.{''''} They suspect that such

  policies will make employers reluctant to hire or promote women into

  high-authority jobs, because women are more likely than men to use those

  policies and take time off. Few studies, however, have directly tested

  this employer-side mechanism. In this article, we argue that due to

  employer heterogeneity, as well as different modes of policy

  intervention such as mandate-based and incentive-based approaches,

  generous family policies may not always lead to employer discrimination.

  Adopting a quasi-experimental research design that classifies employers

  based on their differential receptivity to family policy changes, we

  compare their hiring and promotion of women before and after two major

  family policy reforms in Japan, one in 1992 and another in 2005. Our

  analysis using panel data of large Japanese firms finds little evidence

  of policy-induced discrimination against women. Instead, we find that

  employers who voluntarily provided generous leave benefits prior to

  government mandates or incentives actually hired and promoted more women

  after the legal changes, and employers who provided generous benefits in

  response to government incentives also increased opportunities for

  women.'
affiliation: 'Mun, E (Corresponding Author), Univ Illinois, 702 S Wright St, Urbana,
  IL 61801 USA.

  Mun, Eunmi, Univ Illinois, Dept Sociol, Urbana, IL USA.

  Mun, Eunmi; Jung, Jiwook, Univ Illinois, Sch Labor \& Employment Relat, Urbana,
  IL USA.'
author: Mun, Eunmi and Jung, Jiwook
author-email: eunmimun@illinois.edu
author_list:
- family: Mun
  given: Eunmi
- family: Jung
  given: Jiwook
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1177/0003122418772857
eissn: 1939-8271
files: []
issn: 0003-1224
journal: AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW
keywords: 'parental leave policy; welfare state paradox; gender inequality;

  employers; Japan'
keywords-plus: 'WORK-FAMILY POLICIES; PARENTAL LEAVE; SEX SEGREGATION; INHABITED

  INSTITUTIONS; GENDER EQUALITY; MATERNITY LEAVE; CHILD-CARE;

  DISCRIMINATION; ORGANIZATIONS; MOTHERS'
language: English
month: JUN
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '113'
orcid-numbers: Jung, Jiwook/0000-0002-9784-1206
pages: 508-535
papis_id: ab8a7b54378070f7e05a204067b85826
ref: Mun2018policygenerosity
researcherid-numbers: Jung, Jiwook/H-7612-2013
times-cited: '14'
title: 'Policy Generosity, Employer Heterogeneity, and Women''s Employment Opportunities:
  The Welfare State Paradox Reexamined'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000432706800004
usage-count-last-180-days: '4'
usage-count-since-2013: '61'
volume: '83'
web-of-science-categories: Sociology
year: '2018'