A socio-economic impact assessment of the maternity leave policy in Malta

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation was to thoroughly assess in a quantitative manner, the costs and benefits associated with Malta’s maternity leave policy. Through this impact assessment, the study determines whether total economic benefits outweigh total economic costs. Data was obtained from ETC, Eurostat and from reports of the Social Security Department. The method consists of two parts. A direct cost approach was adopted in the first section, while a scenario analysis was used to quantify the benefits with respect to high, medium and low skilled employees. This study concludes that the total economic benefits associated with the current maternity leave policy outweigh the total economic costs. Furthermore, it indicates that the benefits of providing maternity leave to high skilled workers are greater than those incurred by providing such leave to low skilled workers. This is mainly because the value-added to the economy’s output by high skilled employees exceeds that of low skilled employees. The dissertation obtains an estimate of the monetary value associated with the net economic benefits of the current maternity leave policy. However, results must be interpreted cautiously, keeping in mind certain assumptions and limitations.