The impact of financial incentives in welfare systems on family structure
by Bruce Stafford and Simon RobertsIn recent years there have been academic and policy debates about whether financial incentives in welfare systems affect demographic behaviour. For some they are seen as leading to less marriage, and more cohabitation, non-marital births and single parents. This report reviews the evidence on the influence of financial incentives in benefits and tax credit systems on union formation and dissolution, and on childbearing. The review also highlights the implications of reported findings for the UK.
The review was desk-based and involved an 'informed' or purposive search strategy of published sources. There is a large volume of evidence, especially from the United States, and to limit the scope of the review it focuses on studies published after 1997 and those conducted in English-speaking countries.
The review was conducted by the International Centre for Public and Social Policy, School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham.
April 2009 174 pages 297x210mm
ISBN 978-1-84712-511-8
(564KB)