Fathers' Use of Parental Leave in Estonia: Examining a Generous Leave Package Without Non‐Transferable Quotas

ABSTRACT This article examines the trend in fathers' uptake of parental leave following the 2004 parental leave reform in Estonia and analyses the factors that determine whether fathers take leave. The reform introduced generous earnings‐related parental leave benefits paid over a long period but did not implement a fathers' quota. The study population includes children born between 2004 and 2018. We use a register‐based dataset and logistic regression to analyse variation in the probability that fathers take parental leave. The main explanatory variables are fathers' earnings and educational attainment. Following the reform, fathers' uptake of parental leave more than tripled over the study period. We find a strong positive association between fathers' earnings and their use of parental leave, likely due to the full replacement of previous earnings and the high ceiling on parental leave benefits. Incorporating an interaction between parents' income levels into the regression analysis suggests that economic optimisation plays an important role in fathers' decisions to take leave, while relative resources with the couple also matter. This study expands the geographical scope of research into the determinants of fathers' parental leave use. We find both similarities as well as differences in fathers' leave uptake compared to Nordic countries.