• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.123-141
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• 2010

Considering recent changes in care policies for children and the elderly, this study assumed that the familialistic characteristics of the welfare state in Korea might differ from those of the past. In order to explore the direction of change in familialism, this study focused on care policies for children under six and for the elderly who are sixty-five and over. Applying Leitner's four types of familialism-implicit familialism, explicit familialism, optional familialism, and de-familialism-to the study, it analyzed both familialization care policies, such as paid parental leave, homecare allowance, tax credit, and de-familialization care policies, including service provision and subsidies. The results of the study showed that care policy for children under 6 displayed the characteristics of "optional familialism," while care policy for the elderly reflected "de-familialism."

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.327-354
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• 2007

The purpose of this paper is to compare the family policies of Nordic countries(Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) from 1980 to 2002. Three meaningful findings were found. First, there are several different characteristics in the family policies of Nordic countries in which the ideal understanding of similarity has departed from the reality. Especially, the differences of family policies have extensively expanded since 2000s. Second, for the last 20 years, all four countries have focused their efforts on expanding parents' (re)commodification rather than (re)familialization. Third, the countries have changed their direction in family policies. For example, Finland has changed from familialization to commodification during the mid-1990s.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.341-370
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• 2006

The purpose of this paper is to classify and compare 21 OECD countries in regard to the level of support in parents' childcare and work. Several meaningful conclusions were suggested. First, examining the level of support in parents' childcare and work, 21 OECD countries can be classified into clusters different from the mainstream welfare state typology. Second, the level of parents' childcare and work support was high in socio-democratic countries such as Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Third, the level of parents' childcare right support is not necessarily positively related to that of parents' work in the labor market. As we have seen in the cases of France and Austria, although both countries have relatively high level of parents' childcare and work support, the level of work support in the labor market is low. These results have important implications for Korean family policy in that Korean society has to support both the parents' childcare right and the work right in the labor market.