TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Halla, Martin
AU  - Lackner, Mario
AU  - Scharler, Johann
        TI  - Does the Welfare State Destroy the Family? Evidence from OECD Member Countries
        PY  - 2013/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 7210
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp7210
        AB  - We study the effect of the size of the welfare state on family outcomes in OECD member countries. Exploiting exogenous variation in public social spending, due to varying degrees of political fractionalization (i.e. the number of relevant parties involved in the legislative process), we show that an expansion in the welfare state increases the fertility, marriage, and divorce rates with a quantitatively stronger effect on the marriage rate. We conclude that the welfare state supports family formation. Nevertheless, we also find that the welfare state decouples marriage and fertility, and therefore, alters the organization of the family.
        KW  - welfare state
KW  - fertility
KW  - divorce
KW  - marriage
KW  - risk sharing
        ER  -