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Family and the welfare state in Europe. Intergenerational relations in ageing societies

Intergenerational exchanges develop at the intersection of family, demography and welfare state arrangements. Yet, this intersection is rarely, if at all, systematically analysed. Thus, for instance, while demographic ageing is at the forefront when dealing with societal developments, less attention is given to demographic ageing in kinship networks and to the intersection between the two analytical levels. And while there is a great deal of debate and research study on intergenerational transfers and ‘intergenerational budget’ at the societal level on the one hand, and exchanges between generations in families on the other hand, the link between the two is at best taken as given, rather than systematically explored. This separation into different research fields does not easily allow one to see both what is the complex context in which generations interact with and support each other within families and what are the different resources available in each generation at the crossroads of demography, welfare state patterns of redistribution and various kinds of intergenerational transfers within families. The research on which this volume is based attempts precisely to offer such an integrated analysis for four countries, which, although all experiencing ageing, have a different demographic history as well as different family and welfare state traditions: Germany, France, Italy and Sweden. Linking institutional macro data to micro data, the authors analyse the welfare state and family resources available in particular to two generations: that of the old and that in the most exigent phase of family formation, i.e. young parents., taking into account also the somewhat ambivalent (as both a cause and an effect) role of values and attitudes. In the analysis of welfare state provisions, they highlight what they call the prevalent age orientation (towards the elderly or towards children) of the welfare state as an important factor in shaping not only (unmet) needs, but also, at least implicitly, intergenerational family obligations and their gender specificity. The policies they analyse cross the boundaries of standard welfare state research and specific family policy research, devoting a chapter to each policy field: pensions, care for the frail elderly, care for young children, family-targeted transfers, such as child allowances and tax deductions for children and/or dependent spouses. The authors are interested in the degree to which these policies support each generation’s relative autonomy from family solidarity. In this perspective, they look at levels of poverty both among the old and among households with children, but also at the degree to which, in the case of young parents, policies enable mothers to work for pay. The authors do not limit themselves only to the description of policies, however. Using survey data, they also show the actual impact of these policies on individuals, as International Review of Sociology*Revue Internationale de Sociologie Vol. 21, No. 3, November 2011, 601 608