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Speeding up or holding back? Institutional factors in the development of childcare provision in Spain.

Leon, Margarita (2007) Speeding up or holding back? Institutional factors in the development of childcare provision in Spain. European Societies, 9 (3). pp. 315-337. ISSN 1461-6696. (doi:10.1080/14616690701314234) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:2236)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
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Abstract

This paper looks at childcare provision in Spain from the perspective of policies for the reconciliation of work and family life. The goal is to understand how social care - and childcare in particular - has been placed within the different policy domains of the welfare state, and how this condition affects its opportunities for policy development and innovation. As a point of reference, the study takes into consideration the recent EU benchmark regarding childcare provision in the context of the European Employment Strategy. The investigation looks at the impact of the institutional configuration of the welfare system and the labour market on the development of childcare provision and policies for the reconciliation of work and family. The paper suggests that, given a strong policy legacy in family policy and social services, childcare provision is expanding under the decentralized education system although it has not been articulated in terms of policies for the reconciliation of work and family life, which impacts on female employment. Legislative changes improving the conditions of female employees who give birth have recently been introduced in labour law, although the structure of the labour market and practices in employment relations pose obstacles to their effective implementation.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/14616690701314234
Uncontrolled keywords: childcare; Spain; welfare state; work/life balance; gender; policy change
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Anna Thomas
Date Deposited: 18 Mar 2008 10:00 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/2236 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Leon, Margarita.

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