Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science

Using structural equation modeling, this study examines the financial (i.e., paid leave, annual household income), individual characteristics (i.e., expected parenting self-efficacy) and couples level characteristics (i.e., marital status) that predict the length of maternity and paternity leave in a community sample of 130 couples who were followed across their transition to parenthood in 2008-2009. Results indicate that the length of maternity and paternity leave are multiply determined by both financial measures and individual and couples level characteristics. Situated in identity theory, gender attitudes and role importance seem less influential in the current study compared to previous findings, but paid leave, annual household income, maternal high parenting expectations, pregnancy plannedness, job satisfaction, and parenting self-efficacy explain 20% of the variance in maternity leave and 30% of the variance in paternity leave.

Committee: Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan (Advisor); Claire Kamp Dush (Advisor) Subjects: Families and Family Life

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Consumer Sciences

This dissertation consists of three essays on the impact of publicly funded programs and how they can affect the well-being of the low-income population. The first essay focuses on Broad-based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) expansion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility in the United States. Applying the difference-in-difference model, I find that BBCE expansion in SNAP eligibility increases SNAP participation and weekly food expenditure and decreases food insecurity. The event-study model suggests that there is a lag between the effect of BBCE expansion on SNAP participation and food insecurity and the expansion and the effects are long-lasting. Using BBCE expansion as an instrumental variable for SNAP participation, I show that the effect of BBCE expansion on weekly food expenditure is through increased SNAP participation; however, the reduction in food insecurity cannot be explained by increased SNAP participation. The second essay focuses on maternity leave policies in the United States. Using the propensity score matching method, I find that a mother's maternity leave-taking is positively associated with the probability of children graduating from high school and the probability of children ever attending college. Subsample analyses also show that the effect is slightly larger for low-income mothers. The third essay examines the effect of New Rural Pension Schemes (NRPS) on the health conditions of older adults in rural China. Both regression discontinuity and triple-difference methods show that NRPS significantly improves self-reported health for the elderly in rural China and reduces reported symptoms of headaches, stomachaches, and asthma. In all, public transfer programs targeting the low-income population not only serve as a safety net to low-income individuals but also benefit the low-income population by improving their diet, health, and their children's outcomes.

Committee: Drew Hanks (Advisor); Caezilia Loibl (Committee Member); Robert Scharff (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, History

This dissertation analyzes interactions between politicians, bureaucrats and diverse groups of women over the issue of maternity legislation in Norway between 1880 and 1940. It adds to a rich historiographic debate on welfare state development, women's roles in the creation of welfare policies, the Scandinavian model of welfare and the institutionalization of women's birth experiences. During the sixty years that this study encompasses, Norwegian maternity legislation underwent drastic and dynamic changes. From their initial implementation in 1892, maternity policies expanded in coverage, application and protections. This dissertation traces the history of this development along several lines, including local and national political processes and women's collective and individual influence. While women's access to maternity provisions steadily increased during this period, these achievements were fraught with struggles. Historical context shaped the types of arguments women could use to advance political debates about maternity. In many cases, these hindrances led to the creation of policies that promoted maternity legislation at the expense of certain groups of women's autonomy. Women did not act as a monolithic group when it came to maternity policies. Feminists, midwives and working women actively participated in the creation of Norwegian maternity policies and adapted them to fit their particular needs and interests. These groups of women transformed maternity leave from a mandatory, restrictive form of state control over women's reproduction to a benefit that all working women had a right to receive. In order to achieve more beneficial maternity policies, these groups of women embraced arguments that resonated with contemporary concerns. Late-nineteenth factory legislation had established maternity as an area of state intervention mainly because it fell in line with what other more industrialized countries were doing at the time. These early materni (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Birgitte Søland (Advisor); Robin Judd (Committee Member); Susan Hartmann (Committee Member) Subjects: European History; Gender Studies; Scandinavian Studies; Welfare; Womens Studies