Policy Press
Twenty Child and family policies in an era of social policy retrenchment and restructuring
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Abstract
We concluded in an earlier study that child and family benefits increased dramatically immediately following World War Two but have not done well in comparison with other social benefits since the 1950s (Kamerman and Kahn, 1997a). Although they continued to grow in real terms, they declined as a portion of overall social expenditures. Moreover, child or family allowances declined as a share of gross wages over time in most countries and as a portion of disposable family income as well. The turning point in public expenditure investment in children was the 1960s, when pension and health benefits expanded and related expenditures began to rise dramatically both as a portion of GDP and as a share of social expenditures. This pattern continued over the next 30 years, while child and family benefits fell further behind. Child and family benefits were not routinely adjusted to reflect rises in the cost of living, while pensions were increasingly linked to wages and often to prices as well, both of which rose significantly in most countries during the intervening years. Nor were they automatically adjusted to reflect rising costs, as was the case with health benefits.
However, despite the generally limited impact of family benefits in reducing poverty, those countries that did put together a diversified and generous package of such benefits (family or child allowances, housing allowances, advanced maintenance benefits, maternity parenting benefits) were able to reduce child poverty and raise family income. Clearly, to ensure a satisfactory standard ensure a satisfactory standard of living required jobs and adequate wages, but jobs alone were not necessarily sufficient for assuring an adequate income standard. For many, family-related cash benefits and services were a critical supplement to earnings.
Abstract
We concluded in an earlier study that child and family benefits increased dramatically immediately following World War Two but have not done well in comparison with other social benefits since the 1950s (Kamerman and Kahn, 1997a). Although they continued to grow in real terms, they declined as a portion of overall social expenditures. Moreover, child or family allowances declined as a share of gross wages over time in most countries and as a portion of disposable family income as well. The turning point in public expenditure investment in children was the 1960s, when pension and health benefits expanded and related expenditures began to rise dramatically both as a portion of GDP and as a share of social expenditures. This pattern continued over the next 30 years, while child and family benefits fell further behind. Child and family benefits were not routinely adjusted to reflect rises in the cost of living, while pensions were increasingly linked to wages and often to prices as well, both of which rose significantly in most countries during the intervening years. Nor were they automatically adjusted to reflect rising costs, as was the case with health benefits.
However, despite the generally limited impact of family benefits in reducing poverty, those countries that did put together a diversified and generous package of such benefits (family or child allowances, housing allowances, advanced maintenance benefits, maternity parenting benefits) were able to reduce child poverty and raise family income. Clearly, to ensure a satisfactory standard ensure a satisfactory standard of living required jobs and adequate wages, but jobs alone were not necessarily sufficient for assuring an adequate income standard. For many, family-related cash benefits and services were a critical supplement to earnings.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Foreword vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- List of contributors xii
- Ending child poverty in industrialised nations 1
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The extent and trend of child poverty in industrialised nations
- Child poverty across the industrialised world: evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study 11
- Poverty across states, nations, and continents 33
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Outcomes for children
- Values, policies and the well-being of young children in Canada, Norway and the United States 79
- Child well-being in the EU – and enlargement to the East 99
- Childhood experiences, educational attainment and adult labour market performance 129
- The impact of poverty on children’s school attendance – evidence from West Germany 151
- Inequalities in the use of time by teenagers and young adults 175
- Gender inequality in poverty in affluent nations: the role of single motherhood and the state 199
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Country studies and emerging issues
- The impact of economic change on child welfare in Central Asia 227
- The evolution of child poverty in Ireland 255
- Living conditions of immigrant children in Germany 275
- Who has borne the cost of Britain’s children in the 1990s? 299
- The public and private costs of children in Australia, 1993-94 321
- Socioeconomic circumstances in Europe and North America among school-aged children 347
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Child and family policies
- Income inequalities and poverty among children and households with children in selected OECD countries 371
- Reducing child poverty in the European Union: the role of child benefits 407
- Public policies that support families with young children: variation across US states 433
- Income transfers and support for mothers’ employment: the link to family poverty risks 459
- Child support among selected OECD countries: a comparative analysis 485
- Child and family policies in an era of social policy retrenchment and restructuring 501
- What have we learned and where do we go from here? 527
- Index 547
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Foreword vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- List of contributors xii
- Ending child poverty in industrialised nations 1
-
The extent and trend of child poverty in industrialised nations
- Child poverty across the industrialised world: evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study 11
- Poverty across states, nations, and continents 33
-
Outcomes for children
- Values, policies and the well-being of young children in Canada, Norway and the United States 79
- Child well-being in the EU – and enlargement to the East 99
- Childhood experiences, educational attainment and adult labour market performance 129
- The impact of poverty on children’s school attendance – evidence from West Germany 151
- Inequalities in the use of time by teenagers and young adults 175
- Gender inequality in poverty in affluent nations: the role of single motherhood and the state 199
-
Country studies and emerging issues
- The impact of economic change on child welfare in Central Asia 227
- The evolution of child poverty in Ireland 255
- Living conditions of immigrant children in Germany 275
- Who has borne the cost of Britain’s children in the 1990s? 299
- The public and private costs of children in Australia, 1993-94 321
- Socioeconomic circumstances in Europe and North America among school-aged children 347
-
Child and family policies
- Income inequalities and poverty among children and households with children in selected OECD countries 371
- Reducing child poverty in the European Union: the role of child benefits 407
- Public policies that support families with young children: variation across US states 433
- Income transfers and support for mothers’ employment: the link to family poverty risks 459
- Child support among selected OECD countries: a comparative analysis 485
- Child and family policies in an era of social policy retrenchment and restructuring 501
- What have we learned and where do we go from here? 527
- Index 547
