Is there such a thing as too much parental leave?

Done the wrong way, it can have awkward effects.

- Soumaya Keynes

Decades ago, I might have been sacked for being pregnant, or seen my pay crash to zero after giving birth. These days (mostly through the Financial Times) I get job protection, a generous chunk of maternity leave at full pay and even a coach to ease my return to work. In general, I am in favour of policies to support those of us who nobly breed future taxpayers. But is it possible to go too far?

At first, the point of parental leave was to protect the health of mother and baby. Childbirth warrants some recovery time. More recently, expanded benefits for parents have been seen as a way to promote gender equality or even boost the birth rate. By pulling men on to more nappy duty, paternity leave could even out the load of child-rearing.

Sadly, the unintended consequences are easy to imagine. Extended maternity leave could detach mothers from paid work. Generous benefits could make managers hesitant about hiring potential parents. Exposing more fathers to the realities of full-time childcare could even turn some of them off the pursuit.

Helpfully, governments have provided economists with plenty of reforms to evaluate. And at least some parental leave has lots of nice effects, from health benefits for mother and child to greater involvement of fathers in family life.