Bases teóricas

Based on a comparative analysis of family policies in industrialised countries during the 20th _{century, Gauthier (2002) developed a typology of family-policy regimes:}21 _the

social-democratic regime, the conservative regime, the southern European regime, and the liberal regime. Within this framework, Austria can be classified as having a ‘conservative’ regime, which is characterised by a varying system of state support for families, linked to the parents’ employment status, and driven by a more traditional view of the gender division of labour. Compared to the other policy regimes, the level of cash support is medium to high. Working parents receive medium-level support. Moreover, parental and childcare leaves are relatively long, while childcare facilities are more limited (OECD 2003; see the Appendix for a summary of changes in the parental leave policy in Austria).

Components of the Austrian family (child) benefits include child allowance, tax allowance for children (Lehner 2002), childcare benefit, parental leave, the right to part- time employment and job security, additional cash transfers for families in need and an inclusion of the leave period for pension entitlement and the amount of pension received (Felderer and Gstrein 2005). Table 9 gives an overview of various family policies in Austria around the year 2000 (Kontula and Miettinen 2005, see also OECD 2003).

During the time period considered in this chapter, social and family policies in Austria were dominated by the traditional male breadwinner model. Hence, women tended to work full time until they had children and returned to work after a longer interruption. Combining work and family was difficult for women owing to the lack of public childcare, the non-existence of a private childcare market and the inconvenient school and opening hours of many day-care institutions (see also Section 4.3 and Figure 20 for time trends of these developments). Moreover, expenses for childcare and children’s education are not tax deductible (O’Donoghue and Sutherland 1999).

Instead of facilitating women’s employment opportunities by providing services, the government opted for an extended childcare leave, which has allowed mothers to

21 _{Gauthier’s (2002) definition of family policy encompasses cash and in-kind benefits such as direct cash}

transfers to families, tax relief for families with children, maternity and parental leave, childcare facilities and subsidies as well as family law.

Table 9: Family policies in Austria (around 2000)

Parental allowance

Every mother and/or father of a child below the age of 2.5 (if one parent draws the benefit) or below age three (if both parents received it). €14.53 per day, income threshold: €14,500 per year

Maternity grant Abolished in 1996

Child/family allowance

Paid for under 18 year-olds and up to age 26, if the children study at a university or are in vocational training

below age 3: €105.4, below age 10: €112.7, below age 19: €130.9, from age 19 onwards : €152.7 for 3 or more children: +€25.5 per child and month Income tax

allowance

Since 2000 onwards, a tax credit of €50.90 for each child has been paid together with the child allowance amounting to €364 a year for a single earner household and for single parents.

There are also tax credits for alimonies: €25.50 per month for the first child, €38.20 per month for the second child and €50.90 per month for the third and each further child.

Measures and reforms for reconciling work and family life

Financial support for unemployed persons for buying external childcare. 1998: a form of atypical work with up to 12 hours per week and gross salary under the marginal earnings threshold (i.e. €296.21 in 2001) was introduced. No taxes have to be paid; employers do not have to pay additional levies, only contributions to the social security system.

Since 1998 (starting 1991 in Styria), competitions for women- and family- friendly enterprises have been carried out every year in all federal states of Austria.

Since 1998, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women

and Youth has offered the work and family audit to Austrian enterprises to

improve the reconciliation of work and family life. Source: Kontula and Miettinen (2005).

stay at home with their young children. Since December 2001, there has been a generous 36 month leave with cash benefits equalling €14.53 per day for all women (including students and housewives) who earn less than €14,600 per year. This income level is usually exceeded by mothers who are employed full time and thus forfeit the entitlement to this social benefit (OECD 2003).

Since July 2004, mothers employed full time are entitled to reduce their working hours after birth, provided the company has more than 20 employees and the mother

mothers meet these conditions. In 1999, the employment rate of mothers with children below the age of six in two parent families was about 66%, and 76% for single mothers (OECD 2001: 135). At the same time, only 29% of all mothers in two parent families with one partner employed full time worked full time themselves. The incidence of part time work for the corresponding group of women is 31% (OECD 2001: 135).

To sum up, social policy in Austria mainly provides financial incentives to increase fertility – which seem to be rather ineffective (OECD 2003) – whereas it offers only few structural incentives to reduce the incompatibility of childrearing and employment.

6.2 Changes in parental leave and swings in the second and third birth rates