ABSTRACT
This chapter examines certain aspects of welfare support for the family in Greece. The working definitions of the terms family and family policy are presented, followed by a description of the pattern of family arrangements and the attitudes towards families in Greece. The level of family benefits and tax allowances for a number of ‘model’ families is examined. An evaluation of the overall support for the family provided by the Greek Welfare State follows, as the Greek child benefit ‘package’ is compared with the ‘packages’ of fourteen countries inclusive of all the European Union countries, Australia, Norway and the USA. The comparison reveals that the Greek Welfare State provides very limited support for families with children. These findings highlight the central role that the family plays in providing care for children in Greece. Furthermore, they raise questions about the intra-family relationships that are legitimized and reproduced as a result of Greek family policy, an issue that will be discussed in the second part of the chapter.
