How does Parental Leave Affect Child Health?

In 2009, the border of parental leave system was extended in Taiwan. Not only were more people were eligible for parental leave, but also the authority started to partially compensate parental leave. After parental leave reform, three times more female applicants take parental leave for their children. The policy change allows a researcher to study the impact of parental care on early child health using children''s birthday as instrumental variable. The estimates suggest that the extra parental care may reduce their children''s vulnerability to contagious diseases in hospital before their first birthday.