ABSTRACT
Owing to huge oil revenues, Norway has avoided a severe unemployment crisis and is nowadays in a situation characterized by a labour market shortage in many industrial sectors. Norwegian public authorities in the 1990s have also been more committed to the so called 'work line' which has been manifested in stricter qualifying conditions for unemployment, disability, sickness benefits, social assistance and benefits for lone mothers, and greater efforts at vocational rehabilitation for the long-term sick. Legislation concerning childcare services has been politically controversial since the 1970s, even if access to high quality state-sponsored daycare for children over 3 years of age has gradually come to be regarded as educationally advantageous and as contributing to children's equality of opportunity. In the 1990s, state-sponsored daycare services in quantitative terms represent the most important extra-familial childcare service. The new home care allowance that will be gradually implemented from August 1998 has become one of the hottest topics in the social policy debate.
