Table 1.
Demographic Information and Public Policies in Denmark, Germany, and the United States.
| Denmark | Germany | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Political and cultural infrastructure | |||
| Welfare state model | Social democratic | Corporatist | Liberal |
| Parenting culture | Dual caregiver | Mother caregiver | Mother caregiver |
| Work culture | Dual earner | Father earner/mother part-time earner | Dual earner |
| Country demographics | |||
| Population | 5.8 Million | 83.1 Million | 311.6 Million |
| Employment rate (working-age pop.) | 74.0% | 75.0% | 70.0% |
| Maternal employment ratea | 82.0% | 69.0% | 65.7% |
| Employed full-time | 72.0% | 30.0% | 53.1% |
| Employed part-time | 9.6% | 39.0% | 12.4% |
| Poverty rate | 5.8% | 10.4% | 17.8% |
| Child poverty rate | 3.7% | 12.3% | 20.9% |
| Family policy provisions | |||
| Public spending, family benefits (% GDP) | 3.44% | 3.06% | 1.12% |
| Cash | 1.36% | 1.09% | 0.07% |
| Services | 2.08% | 1.13% | 0.57% |
| Tax breaks for families | 0.0% | 0.84% | 0.48% |
| Paid maternity leave | 18 Weeks | 14 Weeks | 0 Weeks |
| Paid paternity leave | 2 Weeks | 0 Weeks | 0 Weeks |
| Paid parental leave | 32 Weeks | 44 Weeks | 0 Weeks |
| Public child care slot | From 6 months | From 1 year | No guarantee |
Source. Compiled by authors from OECD Family Database <http://www.oecd.org/social/family/database.htm> and OECD Better Life Index <http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/>.
a
Maternal employment rates (%) for women (aged 15-64 years) with at least one child aged 0 to 14 years in 2014 or latest available year.