The “Columbus’ Egg” Of Norwegian Family Policy

Nordic countries have long traditions of promoting gender equality through family policy. The combination of gender equality and comprehensive family and parental provision have been referred to as the “Columbus’ egg” of Norwegian polices. The Nordic combination of high levels of female employment and relatively high levels of fertility has prompted the notion that family policies may play a role in generating this fortunate situation. Developments in family policy may provide means to facilitate combination of childrearing and female employment and therefore make the choice between the two unnecessary. However, reviews of the literature do not come to a conclusion about how policies influence fertility. One reason for this may be found in the measurement of family policies. Some analyses measure the aggregated value of welfare benefits while others are restricted to specific policies. Another reason is that social policies that may influence fertility often have goals other than fertility per se. Reproductive decisions may be influenced indirectly through policies that change the environment in which decisions about having children are made by couples. In this article I use two examples of how Norwegian family policy is linked to fertility. Neither example demonstrates causal relations, but the research does indicate how individuals may respond to different policies.