Swedish Family Policy controversial reform of a success

Since the 1970s Sweden’s dual-earner model of family policy has gradually been strengthened by expansions of public day-care, extended earnings-related parental leave and individualised income taxation of spouses. Sweden has become a central case for comparative gender policy analysts and aspects of these policies have become a point of reference for policy makers in other advanced welfare states. One reason for the large interest in dual-earner policies is their potential consequences for a number of outcomes related to behaviour and well-being of parents as well as children. After the election in 2006 questions have been raised about the future direction of policies. The centre-right coalition government has proposed and launched several reforms with the pronounced purpose to increase individual choice. The separate reforms appear to point in divergent directions, simultaneously introducing new and partly contradictory principles of social care. This paper describes the reforms of Sweden’s family policies and discusses their potential outcomes. Will the dual-earner model persist but in a somewhat new shape? And what are the potential consequences of the new reforms on individual behaviour and well-being?