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The sins of the parents: conceptualising adult-oriented reforms to family policy

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  • Stewart, Kitty
  • Patrick, Ruth
  • Reeves, Aaron

Abstract

A core element of a welfare state is the support that is provided to families with children, in recognition of the additional needs that dependent children create. Variation in the design, generosity and implementation of this provision is significant, reflecting underpinning perspectives towards children, families, and the state’s role in supporting them. Recent work by Mary Daly developed a new typology of social policy towards children, differentiating between ‘childhood-oriented’, ‘child-oriented’ and ‘family-oriented’ policies. In this paper, we explore how far this typology enables us to classify recent significant changes to social security support for children within the UK, in particular the 2013 benefit cap and the 2017 two-child limit. We propose that an extension to Daly’s typology is needed to make sense of these changes. We develop a new category of ‘adult-behaviour-orientated’ child-contingent policy, encapsulating policies that are directed towards children but made conditional on the behaviour of the adults in their household. We go on to analyse support for children across Europe through the lens of this extended framework. Significantly, we find the UK’s approach to be unusual but not exceptional, with other examples across the continent of children being rendered invisible or semi-visible within social security systems that prioritise other goals than children’s needs. It is significant that across diverse national contexts, support for children is being withdrawn (or is simply absent) because of the behaviours and circumstances of the adults in their household.

Suggested Citation

  • Stewart, Kitty & Patrick, Ruth & Reeves, Aaron, 2023. "The sins of the parents: conceptualising adult-oriented reforms to family policy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121533, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121533
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/121533/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elise Aerts & Ive Marx & Zachary Parolin, 2022. "Income Support Policies for Single Parents in Europe and the United States: What Works Best?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 55-76, July.
    2. Reeves, Aaron & Fransham, Mark & Stewart, Kitty & Patrick, Ruth, 2022. "Does capping social security harm health? A natural experiment in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 111825, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Koch, Insa & Reeves, Aaron, 2021. "From social security to state-sanctioned insecurity: how welfare reform mimics the commodification of labour through greater state intervention," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107017, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Hamish Low & Costas Meghir & Luigi Pistaferri & Alessandra Voena, 2018. "Marriage, Labor Supply and the Dynamics of the Social Safety Net," NBER Working Papers 24356, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Sheliza Ladhani & Kathleen C. Sitter, 2020. "Conditional cash transfers: A critical review," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(1), pages 28-41, January.
    6. Reader, Mary & Portes, Jonathan & Patrick, Ruth, 2022. "Does Cutting Child Benefits Reduce Fertility in Larger Families? Evidence from the UK’s Two-Child Limit," IZA Discussion Papers 15203, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    two-child limit; social security;

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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