The Future of Integrated Family Policy
The Long-term Prospects: 2025/30
Résumé
Clearly, in most of the OECD countries the responsible authorities have recognized, more or less explicitly, the fundamental role families play in upholding social cohesion. An enormous amount of literature has already been dedicated to cross-national comparison of family policies or to policy approaches that specifically target families. The interactions between financial support to families, childcare policies, women's employment patterns and fertility levels have also been widely documented.
The main goal of this paper is, therefore, to identify key trends and current changes that will challenge policy makers. It also explores what will be at stake in family-related issues in the near future along with further investigations into the tensions and dilemmas policy stakeholders are likely to encounter. To achieve this goal, I draw on a review of the most recent literature and on the results of my own research.
The paper is structured as follows. Section one will briefly investigate whether there is a trend towards convergence in family policies and will partly answer the following questions. How, and to what extent, are some ‘family policies' integrated and well structured? Why are others fragmented and poorly coordinated? In section two, the impact of more or less integrated government policies will be assessed (through the lens of fertility outcomes, poverty, mothers' participation in the workforce, or gender equality). Upcoming issues and challenges will then be identified and described. Consensus and disagreements among “experts” over those issues will also be reviewed. To conclude, we will try to assess the odds of the adoption of a more integrated and coordinated approach in family policies. For a more in-depth treatment, three countries would make excellent candidates: Germany, France, and Sweden
The main goal of this paper is, therefore, to identify key trends and current changes that will challenge policy makers. It also explores what will be at stake in family-related issues in the near future along with further investigations into the tensions and dilemmas policy stakeholders are likely to encounter. To achieve this goal, I draw on a review of the most recent literature and on the results of my own research.
The paper is structured as follows. Section one will briefly investigate whether there is a trend towards convergence in family policies and will partly answer the following questions. How, and to what extent, are some ‘family policies' integrated and well structured? Why are others fragmented and poorly coordinated? In section two, the impact of more or less integrated government policies will be assessed (through the lens of fertility outcomes, poverty, mothers' participation in the workforce, or gender equality). Upcoming issues and challenges will then be identified and described. Consensus and disagreements among “experts” over those issues will also be reviewed. To conclude, we will try to assess the odds of the adoption of a more integrated and coordinated approach in family policies. For a more in-depth treatment, three countries would make excellent candidates: Germany, France, and Sweden
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