Activating the family? Moral economy and post-industrial family policy

Expanding on the concept of the moral economy, the article investigates implicit justice assumptions connected to family policies in post-industrial European welfare states. Most authors argue that family policies support new understandings of social justice, such as the adult worker norm (Saraceno, 2015), equality of opportunity, and gender equality (Hemerijck, 2018; Palier & Morel, 2012). Critically engaging with this debate, the paper shows how the institutional support of new justice assumptions varies across countries: Increasing women’s employment participation and men’s care involvement is either treated as an issue of private negotiations among family members (UK and Germany) or as an individual right (Sweden) and family-based right (Spain). Comparing the institutional construction of family policies, this paper finds the interpretation of new justice assumptions to be shaped by a welfare state’s existing moral economy. Given that the institutional understanding of justice significantly impacts who benefits from family policies, this paper offers a substantial contribution toward comprehending the cultural aspect of social inequality in post-industrial welfare states

Economics · Family economy · Market economy · Moral economy · Political science · Family Business Performance and Succession · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies