The Liberalization of Maternity Leave Policy and the Return to Work after Childbirth in Germany

German federal law has increased the potential duration of maternity leave five times since 1985. A theoretical model demonstrates that the cumulative return probability at potential duration cannot decline unless the mother's employment conditions or career expectations change. We estimate return to work hazards from the German Socio-Economic Panel for women bearing children in the period 1984–1991 and predict cumulative return probabilities for first-time mothers and mothers with a previous birth. The pattern of cumulative return probabilities as potential duration increases is consistent with the hypothesis that employment conditions or career expectations frequently change for mothers taking longer leaves.     

Work,family and public policy dynamics in France

To understand the relationships between changes to the family and changes to the sphere of work and employment, and how they have developed over time, requires considering a third factor, i.e. public policies, and in particular family policies. In this article, we attempt to clarify theoretically these interactions by taking into account the changes that have taken place in France since World War II. To appraise the French configuration in a special issue on Southern Europe, we begin by explaining why we consider France is following a ‘Southern path’. In a second section, we argue that family transformations are mainly the result of changes that affect work and employment. A similar process combining individualisation, flexibility and precariousness is affecting both spheres of existence. In a last section, we prose a matrix of ideas, ideologies and outcomes to understand the main family policy reforms since World War II.     

The Politics of Seasonal Labour Migration in Switzerland,France and Spain

This article analyses the effects of the politics of seasonal foreign worker admissions on migrant legality in the context of the post‐1945 and the post‐1990 seasonal foreign worker policy in Switzerland, France and Spain respectively. It seeks historical evidence attesting to the ability of seasonal admissions to restrict workers to their non‐resident status. It presents implications for circular migration, the dernier cri in European migration policy aimed to strike a compromise between a perceived post‐crisis demand for the admission of foreign workers and the reluctance to make them prospective citizens.

Policy Implications

• Migration policy stakeholders have shaped foreign worker admissions according to their interests.
• Under some conditions, low‐skilled seasonal foreign worker admissions have contributed to irregular migration, either through workers' overstays or through parallel irregular entries
• There are both differences and similarities between the seasonal admissions advocated under the post‐2007 circular migration schemes, and those of the 1950s–1960s, as well as those of 1990s to early 2000s. The similarities could, under some conditions, trigger the repetition of some of the unexpected outcomes revealed by historical seasonal foreign worker admissions under the post 2007 schemes.

     

Work Trajectories of Female and Male Immigrants in Spain

This article aims to examine in depth the work trajectories of individuals over time, in order to provide a wider perspective of the employment history of immigrants compared to native people, by gender and for more than one decade (2005–2017) in Spain. We use microdata (cohort and multivariate analysis) from the Labour Force Survey and carry out a comparison for three groups: the Spanish born in Spain, the Spanish born abroad, and the non-Spanish born abroad. The results confirm that the non-Spanish born-abroad group is characterized by the existence of segmented assimilation. All foreigners suffered a loss in their work trajectories, since their employment rate in 2017 has as yet neither reached the level of the last years of the previous economic expansion nor the level of the previous cohorts at the same age.     

Returning to school after marriage: Results for whites and blacks

We investigate the impact of various family background, socioeconomic, and life-course factors on the likelihood of white and black women returning to school after marriage. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, results indicate the following: (a) many married women return to two-year schools rather than four-year schools, (b) blacks are more likely than whites to return to school after marriage, (c) fewer measured predictors are significant in models for blacks and for two-year schools, and (d) changing life-course position affects the likelihood of returning to school.     

Parenthood,Gender and Work‐Family Time in the United States,Australia, Italy,France, and Denmark

Research has associated parenthood with greater daily time commitments for fathers and mothers than for childless men and women, and with deeper gendered division of labor in households. How do these outcomes vary across countries with different average employment hours, family and social policies, and cultural attitudes to family care provision? Using nationally representative time‐use data from the United States, Australia, Italy, France, and Denmark (N = 5,337), we compare the paid and unpaid work of childless partnered adults and parents of young children in each country. Couples were matched (except for the United States). We found parents have higher, less gender‐equal workloads than nonparents in all five countries, but overall time commitments and the difference by parenthood status were most pronounced in the United States and Australia.     

Medicalization, Natural Childbirth and Birthing Experiences

Although much of the early sociological and feminist analysis of medicalization focused on reproductive issues and childbirth, attention has moved away from this topic over time as new conditions have become subject to the medicalization process. At the same time, one of the major concepts within this analytical framework, the dichotomy of 'natural' versus 'medical', has not been sufficiently problematized. In this article, we call for a renewed examination of the medicalization of childbirth from a critical perspective that neither takes for granted the meaning of this dichotomy, nor presupposes feminist perspectives or those of privileged groups of women. We revisit sociological frameworks and feminist critiques of medicalization, specifically around childbirth, and review scholarship that addresses their limitations. We propose a research agenda that goes beyond the traditional assumptions about 'natural' and 'medical' childbirth and examines more closely how medicalization processes both shape and conflict with women's subjective experiences of childbirth.     

What Flexibility Do Women Offer? Comparing the Use of,and Attitudes to,Part-Time Work in Britain and France in Retail Banking

A much neglected aspect in the comparative literature on labour market flexibility has ignored how employers' use of flexibility is affected by national differences in labour market characteristics. In this paper the case of part-time work, in the retail banking sector in Britain and France, is taken to show how the preferences of available female workers, together with differences in educational attainment, childcare provision, legal regulation, personnel policy and organizational culture affect employers' use of this type of flexibility. The main argument of this paper is that the type of flexibility employers can obtain from female workers varies between countries. Thus employers design jobs, consciously or not, in response to these differences. This paper supports the approach which emphasizes the need to integrate an analysis of economic production with social reproduction so as to enrich our understanding, from a comparative perspective, of the nature of contemporary work organization.     

The role of non-profit organisations in migration policies: Spain and Italy compared

The aim of the paper is to investigate the relation between Non-Profit Organizations (NP) and immigration. In particular, we examine the services offered to immigrants in Italy and Spain, both noted for their similar patterns of migration. In these countries immigration is characterised by a lack of the so-called “real” (not just legislative) measures that take the needs of immigrants into consideration. Even though emergency policies exist to meet various contingencies, lack of awareness of population movements is probably behind the “absence” of the state.The hypothetic and causal connection between the NP sector and immigration will be studied using selected data. The positive results of the analysis are the first stage in considering the possible substitution of state institutions by the NP sector, with regard to immigrants.     

The time and the transitions back to work in France after maternity

Review of Economics of the Household - Previous studies have shown that childrearing has a different impact on a mother’s professional career, depending, among other reasons, on how much time...     

Structure of University Education and Education for Social Work in Italy

The single-case design, with its potential integration of practice and research roles, has roots extending back to the “scientific charity” movement of the late 1800s. While the goals of “scientific charity” were never realized, the new research technology bears promise of achieving them. This background, together with the related experiences of behavioral psychology and of medicine, is briefly highlighted and the prospects, pitfalls, and challenges involved are discussed.     

The Prosecution of Political Corruption: France,Italy and the USA - A Comparative View

The 1948 Italian Constitution provides for the independence of judges and magistrates. As a result of the tragic outcome of the war, of efforts to prevent dictatorships, war and the violation of human rights, the Italian framers have created an institutional system which can resist political interference in the cases in which elected officials and cabinet ministers are involved. A comparative analysis of France and the USA highlights that in those countries magistrates do not enjoy the same constitutional protection. The state, therefore, and the community, is not adequately protected by a system where power-holders can stop and divert investigations on political corruption.     

Labor Force Transitions after Childbirth Among Five Birth Cohorts in Sweden

This article describes part-time work in Sweden and performs a multivariate analysis of the choice between part-time work, full-time work, and other activities in connection with childbirth among five birth cohorts of women. Results show that the combination of market work and family is common, but heterogeneity exists among women in the sample analyzed. Previous labor force participation proves important when it comes to returning to the labor market. The extent of previous labor force participation is also important, regardless of sector of, when it comes to the return to part-time or full-time work. Career orientation and social background also prove significant, some indicators probably working indirectly through higher education and different preferences.     

Welfare Reform and Teenage Pregnancy,Childbirth, and School Dropout

This study estimates the effect of welfare reform on adolescent behaviors using a difference‐in‐differences approach. After defining the prereform and reform cohorts and considering the life course development of adolescent behavior by following each cohort from age 14 to age 16, we compare the welfare‐target and nontarget populations in the two cohorts. The difference‐in‐differences estimates are obtained using an event history model. Our analysis suggests that welfare reform has not reduced teenage fertility and school dropout. We find modest evidence that welfare reform is associated with higher risk of teenage births for girls in welfare families and higher risk of school dropout for girls in poor families. A combination of a difference‐in‐differences approach and a life course perspective can be a useful way to delineate the effect of societal‐level change on family phenomena.     

Unemployment,marriage, and cohabitation in France

This paper examines the impact of insecure professional status on union formation using the 1994 French Family and Fertility Survey. We show that, for both women and men, the first job generally comes before the first union. In this framework, we consider how being unemployed or having an insecure job delays couple formation and worsens the quality of the potential match. Studying the couple’s investments (marriage, children) and the duration of the couple tests the quality of this match. The results emphasize that unemployment is associated with insecurity in both the professional and personal realms.