Paid Leave, Universal Child Care May Add $1 Trillion to U.S. GDP

Providing childcare and paid leave to parents of young children would be a boon for the U.S. economy, according to a new report by Moody’s Corp.

The research, released on International Women’s Day, projected that policies such as paid family leave and universal pre-kindergarten could result in a $1 trillion boost to gross domestic product by 2028. Moody’s, best known for its sovereign credit ratings, forecasts U.S. GDP could reach $23 trillion by 2028 without changes, but could top out at $24 trillion if women between the ages of 25 and 54 were able to participate in the workforce at the ...