USING CLUSTER ANALYSIS TO STUDY PARENTAL LEAVE POLICIES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Our study seeks to differentiate countries by the duration and flexibility of parental leave and to identify a potential correlation between these indicators and birth rates. We analysed durations of different types of leave related to parenting and explored elements in parental leave policies which increase flexibility of their usage. We identified 4 clusters of countries where two indicators-the duration of post-natal leave and the number of flexible instruments in the leave policy-yielded different combinations. Two clusters mirror each other-the maximum/minimum duration of post-natal leave combined with minimum/maximum flexibility of leave policies correspondingly. In Cluster 3, values for the leave duration and the number of flexibility elements were low; in Cluster 4, they were mean. Total fertility rates in these clusters did not show any statistically significant differences. We found significant differences for a number of additional parameters characterising parental leave systems, which is due to specific parental and paternal leave instruments more or less common in particular clusters. Parental leave policies are part of a broader social and economic agenda, which enables meeting goals of state policy through support measures for families. Our results revealed clusters of countries where such policies are similar in basic parameters.