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Family policy in comparative perspective: the concepts and measurement of familization and defamilization

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  • Lohmann, Henning
  • Zagel, Hannah

Abstract

Family policy is not easily conceptualized or measured in comparative research. Previous approaches are highly diverse and have yielded mixed empirical results in terms of placing countries’ family policy profiles in the international landscape and mapping their trajectories. This article reviews the long-standing discussion of the familization and defamilization concepts popular in comparative research, derives a conceptual framework and provides an in-depth discussion of current empirical approaches. It tackles the lacking consensus on how familization and defamilization are measured, arguing that interventions in gender-specific and intergenerational dependencies are the key dimensions and that measurement at policy level is best suited to capture within- and cross-country variation in family policy. Using data on 21 European countries, the article proposes measures that acknowledge the different dimensions of familization and defamilization. The proposed indicators prove to be useful for mapping a range of European countries’ family policy constellations but are bound by data restrictions. Therefore, the article makes a strong claim for improving the availability of internationally comparable family policy data.

Suggested Citation

  • Lohmann, Henning & Zagel, Hannah, 2016. "Family policy in comparative perspective: the concepts and measurement of familization and defamilization," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(1), pages 48-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:167709
    DOI: 10.1177/0958928715621712
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    Cited by:

    1. Zachary Winkle, 2018. "Family Trajectories Across Time and Space: Increasing Complexity in Family Life Courses in Europe?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 135-164, February.
    2. Susana Ramalho Marques & Sara Falcão Casaca & Manuela Arcanjo, 2021. "Work–Family Articulation Policies in Portugal and Gender Equality: Advances and Challenges," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, March.
    3. Anna Kurowska, 2021. "The Contextualized Inclusiveness of Parental Leave Benefits," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 262-274.
    4. van Damme, Maike & Spijker, Jeroen, 2023. "Country Differences in Long-Term Care Institutions: Towards a Care Regime Typology," OSF Preprints xcjaq, Center for Open Science.
    5. I-Fang Cheng & Che-Jen Su & Hsin-Hsing Liao & Nicolas Lorgnier & Anne-Marie Lebrun & Wen-Shen Yen & Yi-Fang Lan & Yingfang Huang, 2019. "Adolescents’ perceptions of mother–father dominance in family vacation decisions: a 25-society study," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 13(4), pages 755-778, December.
    6. Nazlı Kazanoğlu, 2019. "Work and Family Life Reconciliation Policies in Turkey: Europeanisation or Ottomanisation?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-13, January.
    7. Joanna Szczepaniak-Sienniak, 2021. "Transformations of State Family Policy in Poland from 1989 to the Pandemic Period," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4B), pages 883-900.
    8. Jolanta Aidukaite & Donata Telisauskaite-Cekanavice, 2020. "The Father’s Role in Child Care: Parental Leave Policies in Lithuania and Sweden," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 81-91.
    9. Sunnee Billingsley & Gerda Neyer & Katharina Wesolowski, 2022. "Social Investment Policies and Childbearing Across 20 Countries: Longitudinal and Micro-Level Analyses," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 951-974, December.
    10. Nikolett Somogyi & Wim Van Lancker & Rossella Ciccia & Sarah Van de Velde, 2021. "The Relationship between Familizing and Individualizing Policies and Mental Health in Parents in Europe," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    11. Wim Van Lancker & Hannah Zagel, 2022. "Family policy research in Europe," Chapters, in: Kenneth Nelson & Rense Nieuwenhuis & Mara A. Yerkes (ed.), Social Policy in Changing European Societies, chapter 3, pages 34-49, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Zachary Van Winkle & Fangqi Wen, 2023. "A Holistic Approach to Family Life Course Change across 1930–1978 Chinese Birth Cohorts," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 49(2), pages 279-317, June.
    13. Anna Mironova & Lidia Prokofieva, 2018. "The Involvement Of Russian Households In Intergenerational Transfers 2008-14," HSE Working papers WP BRP 18/PSP/2018, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    14. Iris Po-Yee Lo & Emma H. Liu & Sam Wai-Kam Yu, 2022. "Family and Work Lives of Lesbians in China: Implications for the Adult Worker Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-15, May.
    15. Chantal Remery & Joop Schippers, 2019. "Work-Family Conflict in the European Union: The Impact of Organizational and Public Facilities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-19, November.
    16. Katharina Kunißen, 2019. "From Dependent to Independent Variable: A Critical Assessment of Operationalisations of ‘Welfare Stateness’ as Macro-Level Indicators in Multilevel Analyses," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 597-616, April.
    17. Zagel, Hannah & Van Winkle, Zachary, 2022. "Women’s Family and Employment Life Courses Across Twentieth-Century Europe: The Role of Policies and Norms," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 446-476.
    18. Van Winkle, Zachary, 2018. "Family Trajectories Across Time and Space: Increasing Complexity in Family Life Courses in Europe?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 55(1), pages 135-164.
    19. Anne Grönlund & Ida Öun, 2020. "Minding the Care Gap: Daycare Usage and the Negotiation of Work, Family and Gender Among Swedish Parents," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 259-280, August.
    20. Iris Po Yee Lo & Ruby Chui Man Chau & Sam Wai Kam Yu, 2022. "Adult Worker Model Typologies: Examining Work–Family Policies in Fifteen European Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-14, November.
    21. Mikael Nygård & Marja Lindberg & Fredrica Nyqvist & Camilla Härtull, 2019. "The Role of Cash Benefit and In-Kind Benefit Spending for Child Poverty in Times of Austerity: An Analysis of 22 European Countries 2006–2015," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 533-552, December.
    22. 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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