Family Policies Across the Globe

Abstract

This chapter analyzes family policies across the globe, describing patterns in the development of family allowances, leave schemes, and ECEC services both in developed and developing regions. Using the OECD family database and the ILO global social protection database, it compares the developments in family policy across different regions. The chapter reveals that the way regions and countries in the world have followed the main goals of family policy varies significantly, not only in terms of coverage and quality, but also in terms of design and context of implementation. Despite the efforts made in developing regions are still limited and rarely based on the idea of a universal set of interrelated transfers and services, there is still room for them to learn from the experience of the leaders in family policy.