Anne Ardila Brenøe and co-authors awarded 2026 H.G. Lewis Prize
We are delighted to announce that Anne Ardila Brenøe, together with Serena P. Canaan, Nikolaj A. Harmon, and Heather N. Royer, has been awarded the 2026 H.G. Lewis Prize for their paper, “Is Parental Leave Costly for Firms and Coworkers?”, published in the Journal of Labor Economics in October 2024.
The H.G. Lewis Prize is awarded for the best paper published in the Journal of Labor Economics over the previous two years. The paper was formally recognised at the 2026 SOLE Meetings in Denver.
The paper studies an important and timely question: whether parental leave creates costs for firms and coworkers. Drawing on rich administrative data from Denmark and a staggered difference-in-differences design, the authors show that firms are largely able to accommodate temporary parental leave absences by hiring short-term replacements and making modest adjustments among existing workers. The paper finds minimal financial costs for firms and no adverse effects on coworkers on average. The prize committee commended the paper for its rigorous empirical design, clear policy implications, and contribution to a central debate in labour economics. Beyond its empirical findings, the paper offers an encouraging message: parental leave can be supported in ways that allow employees to have families while firms continue to function effectively.
Congratulations to Anne and her co-authors on this wonderful achievement!