ABSTRACT
Economic redistribution between families has traditionally been one of the most important objectives of social policy throughout Western Europe. When the initial social security schemes to pursue this goal were constructed during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, they typically drew on certain assumptions about family structures and functions. Benefit schemes, for example, were founded on a common premise that adult partners were formally married; unmarried persons were looked upon as singles, and treated as such. In terms of family functions, important assumptions were made about the division of labour within the family. What Jane Lewis (1998a) states for Britain, is largely valid for all of Western Europe: ‘Policy-makers followed William Beveridge in assuming that adult men would be fully employed, that women would be primarily homemakers and carers, and that marriages would be stable.’ These assumptions had important consequences for what needs were recognised in social security schemes and what indicators were used to define the different need groups.
