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Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between the implementation of the Family 500+ benefit, changes in female employment and female economic inactivity. The analysis is based on macro data and is focused on the years 2016–2019. To examine the relationship, this study uses decomposition of the employment-to-population ratio change into labour supply and unemployment components, analysis of changes in the structure of nonparticipants and the shift-share method. Considering that the reaction to the child benefit may differ across age groups, this study found that since the introduction of the Family 500+ benefit, the employment-to-population ratio for women aged 25–39 (the most likely age group to be raising children and therefore to receive the benefit) stagnated, their labour force participation rate decreased and the percentage of nonparticipants due to family and household responsibilities increased.

The paper investigates the effect of child cash benefit "Family 500+" on the female labour supply in Poland, taking into account demographic and cyclical determinants. The study is based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Polish Central Statistical Office quarterly data. The analyses cover the period of 2016–2018. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is the measure of labour supply. The analysis uses a counterfactual method to determine the impact of demographic and behavioural changes on female labour supply. To identify the causes of the economic inactivity of women (adopted by LFS), decomposition of the growth rate of economically inactive women is applied. The effect of the business cycle on female labour supply is analysed using OLS recursive regression. The study found that the LFPR of women aged 25–44 decreased after 2015. This was related to the cash transfers under the "Family 500+" programme and the increasing number of economically inactive women by reason of "family and household responsibilities". At the same time, changes in the demographic structure contributed positively to the LFPR of women aged 25–44, while the business cycle did not have a significant impact on it. OLS recursive regression showed that in the 25–44 age group, the introduction of "Family 500+" coincided with changes in the relationships between the LFPR, the percentage of the "discouraged", economically inactive women by reason of "family responsibilities" and the unemployment rate.