Family Policies in Low Fertility Countries: Evidence and Reflections

Abstract

Family policies, defined as measures designed to support families with children, are part of modern welfare states. They range from punctual measures provided at the birth of a child to measures aimed at making it easier for parents to combine work and family responsibilities. The actual goal of these measures varies largely, being explicitly pronatalist in some cases while embracing a more equalitarian principle in others. Despite the variations in the nature of these policies and their stated goal, they are nonetheless all generally assumed to have a positive effect on fertility. The aim of this paper is threefold. First, the aim is to summarize the main findings from the literature on the impact of family policies on fertility. This is done by adopting a historical perspective, including the review of the early studies in this field of research and by distinguishing different methodologies. Second, the aim is to reflect on these findings, including the role of national context and the framing of policies. Third, the aim is also to reflect on the limited impact of policy interventions on fertility, stressing that their “success” should instead be measured in terms of their ability to support families holistically including their work-life balance.