Family as a Redistributive Principle of the Welfare State. The Case of Germany

Abstract

Family is one of the major principles of welfare state redistribution. It has, however, rarely been at the centre of welfare state research. This contribution intends to help remedy the research gap in family-related redistribution. By examining the German welfare state which is known to be both redistributive and family-oriented, we want to answer the question of how and how far the German welfare state institutionalises family as a redistributive principle. Our case-study of German welfare state regulations in terms of family is based on the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD and its Hypothetical Household Tool (HHoT). We differentiate 54 family forms to adequately reflect our three theoretical assumptions, which are: (1) redistributive logics differ across family forms, and in part markedly; (2) these differences are not the result of one coherent set of regulations, but of an interplay of partially contradictory regulations; (3) family as a redistributive principle manifests itself not only in terms of additional benefits to families, but also in terms of particular obligations of families to financially support family members before they are entitled to public support. These aspects have hardly been analysed before and combining them allows a clear evaluation of family-related redistribution.

Family in societal redistribution: a theoretical inquiry

“…And their redistributive logics in terms of families, i.e. the lines of inequalities as set down in their redistributive regulations, need to be grasped by analysing very different family forms (Frericks and Gurín, 2023; Frericks et al ., 2023). But how to adequately integrate these differences into this theoretical approach is still a puzzle to this author.…”

“…Here, family is only implicitly part of the analysis of welfare state differences, as a unit that is more or less relevant in, for example, tax regulations, means-tests or derived rights. A systematic analysis of family in welfare state redistribution, though, has hardly been tried (for first attempts – from different angles – see Frericks, 2022; Frericks and Gurín, 2023, Frericks and Höppner, 2019; Frericks et al. , 2023).…”

“…This, however, is not necessarily the case, and therefore a theoretical distinction has to be made (on seeming dichotomies see Frericks, 2007). The different social entitlements that explicitly [3] foresee redistribution in terms of family depend on a variety of conditions, among which are labour market participation, material need as identified in means-tests, and the type of family membership (Frericks et al. , 2023), and the concrete redistribution depends on the particular conditions that states formulate for access to, level and duration of social rights.…”

“…In these latter concepts, both human and real contributions, or paid and unpaid labour (mostly provided by the family), are interpreted as entitling a person to resources in societal redistribution as part of an equal exchange. And in fact, in all European welfare states (albeit to different degrees), family is interpreted as a societal resource that legitimates entitlements to resources in societal redistribution (Frericks et al. , 2023).…”

Family as a redistributive principle of welfare states: An international comparison

“…First, they take a one-dimensional perspective on family, while redistributive regulations in part strongly differ across family forms (Frericks et al, 2016). Consequently, we might identify various logics of redistribution in terms of family in one single welfare state as has been shown for Germany (Frericks et al, 2022b), and rights and obligations might differ between the particular family forms. Identifying such differences in redistribution is highly relevant from a welfare state perspective.…”