Gender, Culture, and the State: Family Policy in Conservative Countries

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Family policies play a critical role in lowering poverty rates for families with children, in particular for single parent families, and affect whether women pursue employment when children are young. Why do some countries provide more generous support for families than others? How do these policies relate to female work, gender equality, and religious values of nations? This project answers these questions through the study of the development of family policy in three conservative regimes (France, Germany, and the Netherlands) that profess a strong commitment to the support of families. Taking a comparative-historical approach, it analyzes similarities and differences in these three family policy traditions in order to understand better both the origins and outcomes of these traditions. In so doing, it addresses debates over the causal importance of social Catholic ideology, pro-natalism, political parties, and women's movements to public polices.Specifically, the project analyzes family policy legislation (both successful and failed) in France, Germany, and the Netherlands from 1950 through 2000. By gathering data on family allowances, parental leave, child care, tax benefits, child support, and benefits to single parents, the analysis provides a history of family policies in each nation, compares family policies across the three nations, and estimates quantitative time-series models of changes in policies over time. The methods thus test for possible causes of family policies across the nations, and the project contributes more broadly to the understanding of the sources of public policies.