Family policies in developed countries: contrasting models

Population trends in recent years have prompted most European countries to introduce or expand family support policies. The decline in fertility since the 1970s has led to a substantial decrease in births whose effects may be potentially detrimental over the long term. The number of children per family is often below the desired number reported in surveys. Family support is intended to close the gap between desired and actual fertility by lowering the barriers to having children. The increase in divorce and separation, and the growing numbers of reconstituted families, of children born outside marriage and of “lone” parents have also prompted countries to increase support for families, particularly those on low incomes. At the same time, governments have sought to encourage women’s workforce participation by ensuring that these policies enable parents to strike a better balance between work and family. Governments’ total investment in benefits and services for families has increased sharply in recent years, reaching an average of 2.4% of GDP in 2003 in OECD countries, compared with 1.6% in 1980. Fertility – the average number of children per woman – varies by a factor of two between developed countries. These differentials may be partly due to the existence, or otherwise, of family policies, and to differences in their scope. But what are developed countries’ family policies and what forms do they take? Olivier Thévenon describes existing policies using data from the OECD Family database. Family policies in developed countries: contrasting models