ABSTRACT
The provision of financial support to families with children has become an important area of applied welfare policy analysis as a result of increasing interest in a number of areas. These include concerns about child poverty, the effects on expenditures of differences in the allocation of household resources across household members, and an increasing understanding of potential labour market incentive effects for those with child care responsibilities. This paper discusses methodological factors that arise when thinking about comparing the nature and generosity of government support for families with children.
