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The increase in cohabitation and the role of union status in family policies: a comparison of 12 European countries

The increase in cohabitation and the role of union status in family policies: a comparison of 12 European countries
The increase in cohabitation and the role of union status in family policies: a comparison of 12 European countries
The role of union status, or whether people are married, cohabiting or single, is seldom considered in welfare state research. This perspective, however, is important, since many welfare state policies focus on marriage and do not apply to unmarried cohabitants. This lack of legal regulation may render cohabitants vulnerable in moments when state support is needed. Since cohabitation levels are increasing across Europe, understanding the role of union status in welfare state policies is increasingly important. By analysing data from the European Social Survey and a self-constructed policy database, we answer three questions: (1) How many couples live in cohabitation across 12 European countries today? (2) Which rights do they have in different policy areas? and (3) How many couples, therefore, are covered or fall outside the scope of policies in their country? We find that cohabitation is often, but not always, more strongly regulated in countries with high cohabitation levels, leaving more cohabitants legally unprotected in some countries than in others
cohabitation, europe, policies, union status, welfare states
0958-9287
431-449
Sanchez Gassen, Nora
79a37d81-71b4-421d-8a49-864d59df58e3
Perelli-Harris, Brienna
9d3d6b25-d710-480b-8677-534d58ebe9ed
Sanchez Gassen, Nora
79a37d81-71b4-421d-8a49-864d59df58e3
Perelli-Harris, Brienna
9d3d6b25-d710-480b-8677-534d58ebe9ed

Sanchez Gassen, Nora and Perelli-Harris, Brienna (2015) The increase in cohabitation and the role of union status in family policies: a comparison of 12 European countries. Journal of European Social Policy, 25 (4), 431-449. (doi:10.1177/0958928715594561).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The role of union status, or whether people are married, cohabiting or single, is seldom considered in welfare state research. This perspective, however, is important, since many welfare state policies focus on marriage and do not apply to unmarried cohabitants. This lack of legal regulation may render cohabitants vulnerable in moments when state support is needed. Since cohabitation levels are increasing across Europe, understanding the role of union status in welfare state policies is increasingly important. By analysing data from the European Social Survey and a self-constructed policy database, we answer three questions: (1) How many couples live in cohabitation across 12 European countries today? (2) Which rights do they have in different policy areas? and (3) How many couples, therefore, are covered or fall outside the scope of policies in their country? We find that cohabitation is often, but not always, more strongly regulated in countries with high cohabitation levels, leaving more cohabitants legally unprotected in some countries than in others

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e-pub ahead of print date: 10 August 2015
Published date: 1 October 2015
Keywords: cohabitation, europe, policies, union status, welfare states
Organisations: Social Statistics & Demography

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381787
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381787
ISSN: 0958-9287
PURE UUID: 59d5400a-7a92-40f1-be7b-f1373d50160e
ORCID for Brienna Perelli-Harris: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8234-4007

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Date deposited: 15 Oct 2015 12:28
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:38

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Author: Nora Sanchez Gassen

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