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Family Policy Index: A Tool for Policy Makers to Increase the Effectiveness of Family Policies

Author

Listed:
  • Begoña Elizalde-San Miguel

    (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Departamento de Análisis Social)

  • Vicente Díaz Gandasegui

    (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Departamento de Análisis Social)

  • Maria T. Sanz García

    (Universitat de Valencia, Departamento Didáctica de la Matemática. Facultat de Magisteri)

Abstract

This paper presents the Family Policy Index (XFPI), an analytical tool designed to measure and compare different models of countries’ provision of educational services, parental leave and economic transfers to support families with children aged 0–3 years. The objective of this index is twofold: from a scientific perspective, it aims at measuring and comparing the overall support families receive through public policies; it also serves advocacy purposes, since the index may offer guidance to policy makers on best practices and may also increase citizens’ awareness of the efforts each country is making to support families. The XFPI has been conceptualized following a gender equality principle, considering that policies must involve both mothers and fathers in the exercise of their equal responsibility as parents. The XFPI was measured for two countries, Spain and Norway, in the 1999–2014 period, to test its applicability to different real scenarios and models of Welfare State with different policies and intentions, in which responsibility for childcare falls on two different agents: the State in Norway, and the family in Spain. The results show the extremely low development of Spanish pre-educational services for children 0–3 and, simultaneously, the existing limitations of Norwegian family policies in respect of gender equality. The index has the capacity to provide robust results applicable in different countries and to project into the future the potential scenarios that countries may face when designing new policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Begoña Elizalde-San Miguel & Vicente Díaz Gandasegui & Maria T. Sanz García, 2019. "Family Policy Index: A Tool for Policy Makers to Increase the Effectiveness of Family Policies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 387-409, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:142:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-018-1920-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-018-1920-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Olivier Thévenon, 2011. "Family Policies in OECD Countries: A Comparative Analysis," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 37(1), pages 57-87, March.
    2. Jose Maria Fernandez-Crehuet & J. Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal & Luisa Eugenia Reyes Recio, 2016. "The National Work–Life Balance Index©: The European Case," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 341-359, August.
    3. Leah Ruppanner, 2013. "Conflict Between Work and Family: An Investigation of Four Policy Measures," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 327-347, January.
    4. Carmen Castro-García & Maria Pazos-Moran, 2016. "Parental Leave Policy and Gender Equality in Europe," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 51-73, July.
    5. Salvatore Greco & Alessio Ishizaka & Menelaos Tasiou & Gianpiero Torrisi, 2019. "On the Methodological Framework of Composite Indices: A Review of the Issues of Weighting, Aggregation, and Robustness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 61-94, January.
    6. repec:cai:poeine:pope_203_0447 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Janet C. Gornick & Marcia K. Meyers, 2008. "Creating Gender Egalitarian Societies: An Agenda for Reform," Politics & Society, , vol. 36(3), pages 313-349, September.
    8. Soss, Joe & Schram, Sanford F., 2007. "A Public Transformed? Welfare Reform as Policy Feedback," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(1), pages 111-127, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Youzhu Li & Rui He & Jinsi Liu & Chongguang Li & Jason Xiong, 2021. "Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Pork Industry Policy: A PMC Index Model Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Begoña Elizalde-San Miguel & Vicente Díaz Gandasegui & María T. Sanz, 2023. "Growing Pains: Can Family Policies Revert the Decline of Fertility in Spain?," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(1), pages 269-281.
    3. Vicente Díaz Gandasegui & Begoña Elizalde-San Miguel & Maria T. Sanz, 2021. "Back to the Future: a Sensitivity Analysis to Predict Future Fertility Rates Considering the Influence of Family Policies—The Cases of Spain and Norway," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 943-968, April.
    4. Qi Yang & Jianyuan Huang, 2020. "Content Analysis of Family Policy Instruments to Promote the Sustainable Development of Families in China from 1989–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, January.

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