Lone parents, employment and social policy

LONE PARENTS, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL POLICY......Page 2
Contents......Page 4
List of tables and figures......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Notes on contributors......Page 12
Foreword: Lone parents: the UK policy context......Page 16
An active welfare state......Page 17
Eradication of child poverty......Page 19
Across the means-testing Rubicon......Page 20
Conclusion......Page 21
1. Comparing employment policies for lone parents cross-nationally: an introduction......Page 22
Examining policy and understanding implementation......Page 23
The countries and topics......Page 24
The themes......Page 27
The development of policy......Page 32
Demographic and employment patterns......Page 37
Is it worth working?......Page 44
Barriers to work......Page 45
What is to be done?......Page 51
Introduction......Page 58
Mandating work......Page 63
Making work pay......Page 69
Helping families with childcare......Page 73
Lessons from the US experience......Page 80
Introduction......Page 82
The benefit system......Page 84
Employment patterns and trends......Page 89
Orientations to work and changing work requirements......Page 93
Labour market programmes for lone parents......Page 95
Making work pay for lone parents......Page 100
Childcare and long day care......Page 102
Family-friendly employment......Page 103
Conclusion......Page 104
Introduction......Page 108
Lone parents in Norway: numbers and circumstances......Page 109
Mothers and employment in the 1990s: the end of ambiguity......Page 113
Overcoming the obstacles: social networks and individual guidance......Page 118
Paid employment and the meaning of life: attitudes among politicians, the public and lone parents......Page 120
The 1998 reform: incentives and distribution effects......Page 123
Conclusion......Page 126
Characteristics of lone parents......Page 128
Moral stigmatisation......Page 131
Employment patterns and policies......Page 132
The introduction of welfare reform in the Netherlands......Page 134
Labour market and activation programmes......Page 137
Getting better off......Page 142
Childcare......Page 145
Conclusion......Page 147
Introduction......Page 150
Lone parenthood in France: facts and trends......Page 152
Lone parents and employment......Page 155
Resources and poverty rate......Page 162
Main policy reform issues......Page 166
The paid work/unpaid work equation......Page 174
An adult-worker model?......Page 177
The obligation to work and the obligation to care......Page 182
Care: ethics and policies......Page 184
Demographics, economics and culture......Page 190
Rates of lone parenthood......Page 192
Routes into lone parenthood......Page 194
Age of lone parent and age/number of children......Page 196
Teenage lone mothers......Page 198
Ethnicity......Page 201
Geographical distribution......Page 203
Education and social class......Page 204
Employment......Page 207
Conclusion......Page 209
10. Work-related activity requirements and labour market programmes for lone parents......Page 210
Activity requirements for lone parents......Page 211
Labour market programmes......Page 216
Labour market programmes: ‘outcomes’......Page 221
Final thoughts......Page 227
Introduction......Page 232
Recent developments in making work pay strategies in the six countries......Page 233
Comparative analyses of the value of the tax/benefit package for lone parents in work and out of work......Page 237
Comparative analyses of the relationship between replacement rates and employment rates for lone parents......Page 243
Does work really pay?......Page 246
Placing making work pay strategies in context......Page 249
Conclusion......Page 250
12. Lone mothers, employment and childcare......Page 254
The education and employment histories of lone mothers......Page 257
Childcare provision......Page 260
The objectives and quality of childcare......Page 266
Childcare work and workers......Page 267
Combining employment and parenthood......Page 270
Conclusion......Page 274
Policy lessons from other countries......Page 276
Targeting different types of lone parent......Page 280
Broader issues......Page 281
References......Page 286
Index......Page 310