Employment Strategy Policies and Lone Parenthood: The Case of Norway

Abstract

This article explores social benefit take-up and employment careers of lone parents in a framework of changing welfare policies. Like several other Western countries, during recent years Norway has introduced employment strategy policies aimed at lone parents. Norwegian welfare policies have traditionally reflected political ambiguity as to which of the roles should be supported during lone parenthood: the caring role or the breadwinner role. As social benefits have been relatively generous, lone parents have enjoyed a certain freedom of choice of economic adjustment. Recent policy changes, involving a considerable reduction of the benefit entitlement period, indicate a shift in the way of less ambiguous political attitudes toward lone parents. This article discusses how lone parents will be able to adapt to these changes. The point of departure is a life course analysis showing how individual human capital and living conditions earlier in life affect the economic adjustment during lone parenthood. The analysis is based on data from the Statistics Norway 1991 Level of Living Survey with an extended random sample of lone parents.

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