Women and Children First?: The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Family Policy

Abstract

This panel discusses the role of institutions, political interest, and leadership in the reforms of family and reconciliation policy undertaken during the current economic crisis. In recent years, core areas of social policy have experienced retrenchment while family policy has been expanded in an attempt to ward off new social risks. When the EU set goals for the long-term expansion of female labor market participation and public childcare a decade ago, this produced reforms in many states. These reforms are now threatened. We assume that both the nature and the extent of family policy retrenchment depend on the timing and national impact of the overall economic crisis and on the institutional-political backdrop of specific countries. For example, Iceland and Greece were hit particularly hard, Spain and Portugal were able to cope through drastic measures, and Germany and France are less severely affected. To explore the influence of the timing and impact of the crisis, we especially welcome papers dealing with the countries mentioned above. States also deal differently with economic crises according to their own welfare state institutions and politics. This panel will explore how institutional settings mediate the crisis in different welfare states: Who are the political actors promoting austerity measures? Do such measures, if present, face popular or organized opposition and, if so, from what actors? How do political leaders sell retrenchment (or resistance to retrenchment) to the public? Are women and children among the first targets to suffer the costs of retrenchment? Finally, should the state “invest” in women and children regardless of the severity of the economic situation? Or do all citizens have to “tighten their belts”? We encourage paper proposals that draw on a variety of theoretical approaches, such as institutionalism, conflict- and interest theories of new social risk, the role of ideas and discourse, and the impact of political leadership in crises. We plan a presentation of 4 to 5 papers; potential paper givers/paper titles (so far as known at this stage): 1. Sonja Blum (to be confirmed): A comparative analysis of austerity measures in family policy in EU member states; 2. Silja Häusermann (to be confirmed): Family policy after the crisis in France and Germany; 3. Stefan Olafsson (to be confirmed): Family policy after the crisis in Island; 4. N.N.: Family policy after the crisis in Spain; 5. N.N.: Family Policy after the Crisis in Greece. Keywords: retrenchment, family policy, welfare state

Title	Details
The Bare Necessities: Family Policy Reforms in Germany and Austria and Their Post-Crisis Amendments	View Paper Details
Scaling Down: The Second and Third Wave of the Financial Crisis hits German Family	View Paper Details
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Housing Arrangements as Family Policy in Times of Crisis	View Paper Details