A comparison of family policy designs of Australia and Norway using microsimulation models

Abstract

Female labor supply, Family policy, Means-testing, Childcare, Microsimulation, J22, H31, J13,

Family policies in the context of low fertility and social structure

“…These findings are in line with empirical studies (Gauthier and Hatzius 1997;Björklund 2006;Gauthier 2007;Feyrer, Sacerdote, and Stern 2008;Egger and Radulescu 2012) and microsimulation models (Kalb and Thoresen 2010). Social networks and social effects are also found to affect fertility, which coincides with empirical results (Bühler and Philipov 2005;Philipov, Spéder, and Billari 2006;Balbo and Mills 2011) and with simulation models (Zamac, Hallberg, and Lindh 2010).…”

“…We infer that empirical studies gain from the inclusion of variables depicting the social structure. Kalb and Thoresen (2010), for instance, compare the Australian support scheme which is based on means-tested or income-tested transfers and the Nordic scheme of subsidised non-parental care and a universal child benefit schedule. Means-tested transfers and subsidised non-parental care correspond to proportional policies in our framework and universal family income support is the equivalent to fixed family policies.…”

Paid Parental Leave and Female Labour Supply: A Review

“…Labour force participation rates of mothers of preschool children have increased substantially (7.0 percentage points) over the 8 years reported in the figure, whereas participation of mothers of school‐aged children has remained fairly stable at a much higher level. Compared to many other countries across the world, labour force participation and hours worked by mothers of preschool children are particularly low, whereas for women without children labour force participation and hours worked are high, and at a similar level to countries with high female labour force participation such as Norway (Kalb & Thoresen, ).…”

The Impact of Fertility on Mothers’ Labour Supply in Australia: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size

“…In this context, the development of expanded child care with longer hours could have positive effects on mothers' work (Ferrera, 1996). Similar to the United States, work-in benefits targeting low-income households could also encourage mothers re-entering the labour market after a period of inactivity (Kalb and Thoresen, 2010).…”