1 子どものいる世帯の経済格差に関する国際比較(I 共通課題=子育てをめぐる社会政策)

抄録

The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of income inequality among households with small children in comparative perspective and to explore what kind of family policies for supporting childrearing should be provided in contemporary Japan. The paper consists of two parts. The first section presents empirical analyses on the economic conditions of households with small children in industrial nations. The countries which I analyze are the United States, France, Sweden, and Japan. The degree of income inequality among households with small children has greatly increased since the mid-1980s, and a particularly high rate of poverty among single-mother households was found in Japan. Even though many mothers are in the labor force, the poverty rate among Japanese single-mother households is much higher than those in other nations. The high poverty rate in Japan probably comes from the low wages of single mothers. Since the labor force participation rate among Japanese single mothers is high, work alone does not seem to prevent them from sliding into poverty. The second section examines people's attitudes toward childrearing policies in the United States, France, Sweden, South Korea (included only in the attitude survey), and Japan. The types of childrearing-related policies that are considered important by many Japanese people are economic support such as child allowances, diversity in childcare services, and reduction in education expenses. In Japan, people show similar tendencies in attitudes toward childrearing policies regardless of household income. In other countries, however, people's preferences in childrearing policies differ according to the level of household income. Those in low-income households tend to prefer cash allowances, while those in high-income households tend to favor flexible work practices and tax-financed reductions of childrearing costs. The extent of income inequality in Japan is as high as the United States, but people's attitudes are not stratified by their level of economic well-being.