Child and Family Benefits in Eastern and Central Europe and in the West: Learning from the Transition

As countries in Eastern and Central Europe attempt the transition to market economies, they challenge the theoretical and applied repertoires of political economy. It is the premise in this paper that the transition tests the social policy ‘wisdom’ of the pluralistic, democratic ‘Western’ societies and offers scholars the opportunity for monitoring and learning. The paper is focused on family benefits, a component of social policy, and is concentrated on Hungary, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. A contrast is made to European countries of the European Community and the European Free Trade Association. The United States is also covered. The discussion is concentrated on maternity and parental leave, care for infants, toddlers, and preschool children, and family allowances. One important question addressed is whether with current financial constraints the East will be forced to relinquish its family benefit policies as the West expands such policies. Or, to the contrary, will these policies be expanded further in the East, as a substitute for unemployment insurance and to solve other labor-market problems?