The paper states the necessity for substantial investment in policies to support childhood. Children, considered both in quantitative and qualitative terms, are identified as the focus for the definition of the new welfare balance. First of all, the article considers the reasons that influence the reproductive choices of women and the reasons behind the low fertility rate, analyzing the negative effects on growth and development resulting from present circumstances. In the light of the importance of human capital as a strategic factor of economic growth, the author supports the necessity to invest in a mix of policies which, on the one hand, allows people, especially women, to satisfy their reproductive desires without them becoming an obstacle to participation in the labor market; on the other hand, it aims to support the growth and development of children by overcoming the social and cultural inequalities inherited from their parents, allowing them to acquire skills that can be put to use in the labor market when they are adults.only subscribers can see the full article

A response to the problems of the elderly who are no longer self-sufficient is today the point where we can most immediately assess our capacity to draw up innovative public policies and develop techniques and instruments for integrating the social services and the health service. The institutional, financial, organisational and professional innovations that now appear necessary for running both the health service and the social services need to offer practical solutions to the specific problem of the aging of the population, but also have a high symbolic value in relation to the role of the public sector in solving collective problems and empirically verifying the capacity of both these systems to radically renew themselves. only subscribers can see the full article

The article presents the main results of a study conducted by Ires on childcare targeted at under3-year-olds. After outlining information currently available on this issue, the following aspects are analysed: a) the diffusion of care services at the regional level; b) an estimate of expressed and unsatisfied demand; c) an overview of the functioning of such services with respect to family requirements. In conclusion, an analysis is conducted on the link between the difficulty in activating infant care services and the fragmentary and residual nature of local welfare systems in Italy.only subscribers can see the full article

The paper examines the main effects of the difficulties of reconciling life and work times in Italy. It then goes on to analyse a particular aspect of this difficulty, namely the incapacity of satisfying desired fertility plans. Analysing data from an inquiry on living conditions of families from a well off Italian province, there is empirical evidence of the positive effect of the type of work performed by the woman on the gap between children desired and effective. Some policy considerations are given in the conclusion.only subscribers can see the full article

As President of the Parliamentary Commission on Social Affairs I’d like to offer a few brief thoughts on the subjects introduced here and on which there has been a discussion, offering an institutional point of view on the path to follow. I refer in particular to the law on non-self-sufficiency, which is being discussed by the Commission I chair, and which comes from a failure in the previous Parliament. The Hon. Zanotti dealt with it in the last Parliament, and this time too, there is a risk of it finishing on the rocks of financial covering. This law is based on the setting up of the Fund for non-self-sufficiency, and it is clear that if this fund is not adequately financed with the necessary resources to guarantee an essential level of services, then the law cannot be approved.only subscribers can see the full article

When we talk about health, social and welfare services it is useful to refer to health and wellbeing. They are two concepts that significantly overlap and mutually interfere with each other, and are difficult to separate out even in our own lives. Health influences wellbeing and vice versa, and we do not know where health ends and wellbeing begins. Legally, politically and administratively, in organising and providing services, the distinction and the separating out is a necessary phase. However, when they have been separated out, they need to be brought back together again. The first separation of the two is in the Constitution, where protecting the right to health is different, more precise and detailed, while the protection of social rights is weaker. This formulation is linked to a work logic, a logic that has been important in history, but is now reductive in terms of universalism.only subscribers can see the full article

It is widely believed that a viable welfare state depends on achieving and maintaining a high level of solidarity amongst citizens, and that this solidarity is eroded by increasing levels of ethnic and racial diversity due to immigration. If true, there is a trade-off between a more open and accommodating approach to immigrants, on the one hand, and the maintenance of a robust welfare state. In this paper, however, we argue that claims about an inevitable trade-off between diversity and solidarity are premature. The evidence to date, and our own research, shows that a multicultural welfare state is a viable prospect.only subscribers can see the full article

This article reviews Swedish family policy from a gender equality point of view. Family policies and gender equality policies in Sweden are not two separate entities, but are closely interwoven and constructed to mutually support each other. Swedish family policy comprises three parts: 1) child and family benefits, 2) parental insurance, and 3) high quality day-care, which are discussed in the paper. Back-ground information on the societal context of Swedish families is also provided. It is argued that gender-equal family policy in Sweden has been successful, both in promoting a gender-equal society, in keeping up the birth rate and in providing support for families and children.only subscribers can see the full article

The Mediterranean model of family consists basically of a few rules: the moral engagement to support with one’s own means the frail members of the family and the golden rule of reciprocity between parents and children. This powerful clearing house between resources and frailties of children and parents is a precious tool to explain the peculiarities of both the current demographic behaviour and the welfare system in the South of Europe. The author explores the current changes in the intergenerational pact and claims for a frame of well tuned social policies, capable of transforming present resource restrictions and rekindling the inert aspirations of the younger generations.only subscribers can see the full article

Integration in welfare policies, like the management of the processes of change in our welfare system are often dealt with and analysed from the perspective of the policy maker. In our country this is a response to a deficit in implementing and evaluating public policy and, still more, to the need for a more pragmatic approach to reform in the various areas of state intervention. This perspective becomes indispensable in the health sector, in particular, where the eternal debate on the public-private relation, on the costs of the national health service, or on the inadequacy of our services in relation to continually evolving health needs and demand, almost inevitably lead to large-scale questioning of the reforms carried out, starting from law 833/78, without there being any careful evaluation of the impact and the real effects of these interventions. only subscribers can see the full article