ISER Working Paper Series 2009-24

Measuring the size and impact of public cash support for children in cross-national perspective

Authors

Publication date

04 Sep 2009

Abstract

We suggest a new comprehensive measure of support given through tax-benefit systems
to families with children. Using microsimulation techniques, this accounts for all
provisions contingent on the presence of children, while usually only gross child/family
benefits are considered. We use EUROMOD, the European Union tax-benefit
microsimulation model, to quantify the support for children and analyse its impact on
household incomes and child poverty for 19 countries. We find that the conventional
approach underestimates on average the total amount of support for children by about
one fifth. Furthermore, the differences between two measures vary considerably across
countries and are, therefore, critical for cross-national comparisons.

Subjects

Welfare Benefits and Microsimulation

Notes

working paper

Paper download  

Related publications

1. Measuring the size and impact of public cash support for children in cross-national perspective

   Francesco Figari, Alari Paulus, and Holly Sutherland

   Journal Article, Social Science Computer Review - 2011
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2. Measuring the size and impact of public cash support for children in cross-national perspective

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   EUROMOD Working Paper Series, EM6/09 - 01 Sep 2009 - download  
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