Arbeitspapier
Does the Welfare State Destroy the Family? Evidence from OECD Member Countries
We study the effect of the size of the welfare state on family outcomes in OECD member countries. Exploiting exogenous variation in public social spending, due to varying degrees of political fractionalization (i.e. the number of relevant parties involved in the legislative process), we show that an expansion in the welfare state increases the fertility, marriage, and divorce rates with a quantitatively stronger effect on the marriage rate. We conclude that the welfare state supports family formation. Nevertheless, we also find that the welfare state decouples marriage and fertility, and therefore, alters the organization of the family.
- Sprache
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Englisch
- Erschienen in
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Series: Working Papers in Economics and Statistics ; No. 2013-05
Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
Demographic Economics: Public Policy
Externalities
Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
National Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
divorce
fertility
welfare state
risk sharing
Lackner, Mario
Scharler, Johann
- Handle
- Letzte Aktualisierung
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20.09.2024, 08:22 MESZ
Objekttyp
- Arbeitspapier
Beteiligte
- Halla, Martin
- Lackner, Mario
- Scharler, Johann
- University of Innsbruck, Research Platform Empirical and Experimental Economics (eeecon)
Entstanden
- 2013