Although employment growth is propagated as being crucial to reduce poverty across OECD countries, the actual impact of employment growth on poverty rates is still unclear. This study presents novel estimates of the impact of macro-level trends in female labour force participation on trends in...

This paper investigates the relationships between single mothers' demographic and socio-economic circumstances and differences in their labour market attachment in Great Britain and West Germany. Single mothers' employment is a key issue in current policy debates in both countries, as well as in...

This paper investigates the relationships between single mothers' demographic and socio-economic circumstances and differences in their labour market attachment in Great Britain and West Germany. Employment of single mothers is a key issue in current policy debates in both countries, as well as...

Although employment growth is propagated as being crucial to reduce poverty across OECD countries, the actual impact of employment growth on poverty rates is still unclear. This study presents novel estimates of the impact of macro-level trends in female labour force participation on trends in...

The long-standing wisdom that universally designed benefits outperform targeted benefits in terms of poverty reduction has come under siege. Recent empirical studies tend to find that targeting is not necessarily associated anymore with lower levels of poverty reduction. In this study, we...

This article argues that the effect of policy institutions on female labor market participation is mediated by reference groups surrounding individual women. Using recent data on individual women between 20 and 49 years in 22 European countries, we distinguish between two types of institutions:...

Harmonisation of social security systems is back on the agenda of European policy makers. However, the introduction of a harmonised scheme poses severe challenges. In this article we explore some options and difficulties associated with the implementation of a harmonised minimum income...

Under the social investment paradigm, a child-centred investment strategy has been developed. Mainstay of such strategy is the provision of childcare services, which are expected to increase maternal employment rates, further children’s human capital and mitigate social inequalities in early...

Childcare services are increasingly regarded as a major policy lever to mitigate social inequalities. Such services are believed to be effective in reducing poverty and increasing employment rates by allowing both parents to engage in paid employment, as well as to benefit the cognitive and...