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Children's Opportunities in Germany – An Application Using Multidimensional Measures

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  • Charlotte Bartels
  • Maximilian Stockhausen

Abstract

Single parents and unmarried couples are increasingly replacing the traditional nuclear family. This paper investigates if the greater variety in living arrangements contributes to increased resource disparities among children in Germany. Children in single parent families are disadvantaged in at least three dimensions decisive for their later achievements: material standard of living, parental education, and parental childcare time. We compute multidimensional inequality and poverty indices using SOEP data from 1991 to 2012. We distinguish between parental and publicly provided childcare, which is an increasingly important in-kind benefit in Germany. We find that both multidimensional inequality and poverty declined as expanded public childcare strongly reduces resource disparities among children.
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  • Charlotte Bartels & Maximilian Stockhausen, 2017. "Children's Opportunities in Germany – An Application Using Multidimensional Measures," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 18(3), pages 327-376, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:germec:v:18:y:2017:i:3:p:327-376
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/geer.12108
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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