This book is a comparative study of family change, parental employment and social policy in the five Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. In all these countries family forms have been profoundly affected by lower fertility rates, lower marriage rates, increased cohabitation, higher risks of relationship breakdown and episodes of lone parenthood. These changes have also been linked to an increase in the proportion of mothers participating in the labor market. .The contributors to this book trace these social trends over the last twenty years and analyze how social policy has developed and evolved in response. They argue that while the Nordic countries pioneered efforts to recognize new family forms and reconcile work and family life, there is still considerable variation between them as well as some evidence that the non-Nordic countries are catching up.
This collection of essays reviews the key trends, surveys the relevant economic theory and summarizes and critiques the empirical research literature. By providing a view of what we know, what we do not know, and what the critical unanswered questions are, this Handbook provides an examination of the many changes that have occurred in women's economic lives.