Reconciliation of Work and Family Within Different Institutional Settings

Abstract

The IPPAS data are used to analyse work-family life arrangements from two perspectives: a desirable increase in female employment, and a highly-desirable rise in fertility. The practised and preferred work-family arrangements are studied in terms of the family-partnership models by employment patterns, with special emphasis being placed on institutional settings. The descriptive analysis is combined with the multinomial logit models, formulated for couples’ choices of family-partnership models, as well as for fertility intentions.

Strong preferences for families among women in either full- or part-time employment, and impacts of preferences on the family-partnership models practised, show potential for further increases in female labour force participation. Our analysis confirmed a high relevance of an institutional setting supportive of the work-family balance from the perspective of desirable increases in female employment.

Our hypothesis, namely that fertility intentions would be higher under the welfare regime which is characterised by the lowest level of incompatibility between family and work than within other institutional settings, was not confirmed. However, countries whose welfare regimes provide developed public support for parents (Finland, Belgium (Flanders) and Slovenia) do seem to be more promising in terms of fertility prospects than countries in which the institutional setting enhances polarisation between the male breadwinner and dual-earner models (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Poland).