This week brought news regarding the Family Medical Leave Act. The first reports a Cornell University study of European leave policies that are generally more generous than the mandated, but unpaid, leave the federal government imposed on American employers years ago.
One of the revelations uncovered by the prestigious institution is that longer leave and work protections might lead women to stretch out their leaves longer than they otherwise would. Similarly, employers tended to be reluctant to hire women likely to take advantage of mandated generosity. Who would have guessed that people offered a free lunch will dine happily for as long as the food lasts? Shockingly, the people forced to pay are equally reluctant to incur such costs.
Apparently the discipline of economics no longer considers incentives involved in transactions, at least when topics under study are related to politically correct causes.