Javornik, J (2014) Measuring state de-familialism: Contesting post-socialist exceptionalism. Journal of European Social Policy, 24 (3). 240 - 257 (17). ISSN 0958-9287
Abstract
This article offers a methodology to reveal the latent constructs which underlie policies on parental leave and childcare services. It is constructed to uncover the state assumptions about social organisation of childcare and gender roles in a country-comparative perspective. Legal regulations are central to this analysis, and combinations of policy components take centre stage. An index of state de-familialism is proposed and its analytical potential tested on eight post-socialist EU states. Grounded in Leitner’s (2003) conceptualisation of familialism, it gauges three policy types: (1) Slovenian and Lithuanian supported defamilialism incentivises women’s continuous employment and active fatherhood, (2) explicit familialism in Hungary, Czech Republic, and Estonia supports familial childcare and reinforces gendered parenting, and (3) implicit familialism in Poland, Slovakia, and Latvia leaves parents without public support. These groups share core characteristics with developed welfare-state regimes. This methodology has the potential to discredit claims of post-socialist exceptionalism and allows researchers to test new hypotheses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 Author(s) . This is an author produced version of a paper published in Journal of European Social Policy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Childcare; comparative analysis; policy index; state de-familialism; Central and Eastern Europe |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Sociology and Social Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 06 May 2015 11:59 |
Last Modified: | 16 Nov 2016 11:22 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0958928714525815 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Sage Journals |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0958928714525815 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:84185 |