In this paper we compare gender differences in the allocation of time to market work, domestic work, child care, and leisure over the life cycle. Time use profiles for these activity categories are constructed on survey data for three countries: Australia, the UK and Germany. We discuss the extent to which gender differences and life cycle variation in time use can be explained by public policy, focusing on the tax treatment of the female partner and on access to high quality, affordable child care. Profiles of time use, earnings and taxes are compared over the life cycle defined on age as well as on phases that represent the key transitions in the life cycle of a typical household. Our contention is that, given the decision to have children, life cycle time use and consumption decisions of households are determined by them and by public policy. Before children arrive, the adult members of the household have high labour supplies and plenty of leisure. The presence of pre-school children, in combination with the tax treatment of the second earner's income and the cost of bought-in child care, dramatically change the pattern of time use, leading to large falls in female labour supply. We also highlight the fact that, in the three countries we study, female labour supply exhibits a very high degree of heterogeneity after the arrival of children, and we show that this has important implications for public policy.

Gender equality has been one of the defining projects of European welfarestates. It has proven an elusive goal, not just because of political opposition but also due to a lack of clarity in how to best frame equality and take account of family-related considerations. This wide-ranging book assembles the most pertinent literature and evidence to provide a critical understanding of how contemporary state policies engage with gender inequalities.

This book examines economic transfers across generations and genders from a European perspective. It addresses key challenges that contemporary societies face in regards to ageing, welfare sustainability, and intergenerational and gender equity. Coverage also offers important insights into an often invisible side of the economy, namely the contribution of women who because of the gender contract largely engage in unpaid work in the household. The book presents a detailed analysis of resource reallocation across population members in Italy, which encompasses the age and the gender perspective, the public and the private sector, and the market and non-market dimensions of the Italian economy. This innovative and comprehensive case study presents valuable information on how intergenerational obligations are split between the family and the state. The author also explores the possible economic consequences of future ageing by using demographic projections and estimated age profiles of production and consumption. By incorporating services originating from unpaid work in its analysis, this monograph corrects the traditional under-evaluation of the ways homemakers contribute to the economy and offers an important addition to studies on generational economy, the National Transfer Accounts project in particular. The methods presented inside, though using data specific to Italy, are relevant for all European countries and will appeal to readers with an interest in welfare studies and policies.

This book offers a comprehensive and in-depth overview of how public policy is shaping gender equality in Europe.

Feminist scholars have long pointed out the relevance of the unpaid work that goes on within European households in sustaining the well-being of the continent's populations. However, care work and domestic labour continue to be largely unremunerated and unequally distributed by gender. This unique volume of interdisciplinary essays casts new light on the roles that households play in securing the well-being of individuals and families, uncovering the processes of bargaining and accommodation, and conflict and compromise that underpin them. Contributors put gender at the centre of their analyses, demonstrating the uneven experiences of men and women as both providers and receivers of welfare in European households, in both the past and the present. As European states grapple with changing family forms, a growing population of dependent people, increased participation of women in labour markets and a profound shift in the nature and organisation of work, this book makes a timely contribution to our understanding of the critical role played by households in mediating processes of economic and social change. It offers new challenges to scholars, researchers and policy makers eager to address gender inequalities and enhance well-being. This book is the second of four volumes being published as part of Ashgate's 'Gender and Well-Being' series that arise from a programme of international symposia funded by the European Science Foundation under the auspices of COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research).

This assessment is an introduction to the Oxford Review of Economic Policy`s issue on gender and the life cycle. It sets the stage by providing background information on various dimensions of gender differences, pointing out differences across countries as well as over time, and relates this evidence to the papers that follow. It further briefly reviews the articles in the issue and puts them into context.