Twenty per cent of families in Sweden are headed by lone parents. But in Italy, the figure is only 0.5 per cent. (Britain is in the middle with 9 per cent.) These 1999 figures are quoted in Family Policy, Family Changes a valuable new book by Patricia Morgan and published by Civitas.
Teenage pregnancies in Sweden are similarly much higher than in Italy. They run at 24 per 1,000 females aged 15-19 compared to 8 in Italy. (Britain is the easy winner of this race with 45.)
Divorce is also much more common in Sweden with 47 per cent of the 1981 cohort having divorced compared to a mere 8 per cent in Italy (Britain's rate was 42 per cent).
Given the emotional suffering experienced by people as a result of lone parenting, teenage pregnancy and divorce, it is perhaps not surprising that the suicide rate in Sweden is 20.3 for men per 100,000 and 8.4 for women. These figures are far higher than in Italy, especially for women. Only 8.4 men per 100,000 men commit suicide and only 3.2 women.
But why have lone parenting, divorce and teenage pregnancies been so dramatically more widespread in Sweden than Italy? How has Italy managed to avoid the damage done to children on the whole (detailed in The Welfare State We're In) by a high incidence of lone parenting?
Patricia Morgan does not approach the subject from this angle. But she remarks that in Italy, "family allowances have been very low" and for lone parent families they amounted in 1994 to a mere 2.6 per cent of average male manufacturing earnings.
In Italy, it has been the family that has had the primary role in supporting young people and the state's help has been "almost non-existent". A Eurobarometer study asked young people aged 15-24 where they got most of their money from. In Italy, 67.5 per cent said their family, compared to an EU average of 45 per cent. (A mere 17.4 per cent in the UK.)
It would seem, in short, that Italy has not subsidised lone parenting. As a result of this, it has had very little of it - only one eighteenth of what we have in Britain.
I have only skimmed her book so far, but I have not yet found reference to the provision of council housing for lone parents in Italy. I have been told by Italians that it is not provided at all. If this is true, this would make the idea of becoming a lone parent all the more unappealing to young Italian women. It would help explain why they simply do not go in for it.
Benefits influence behaviour in a big way. I suggest that the different benefits policy on lone parenting in Italy has been the primary reason for the low incidence of lone parenting there.
It will be said that no, it is all because the country is Catholic. But I believe, though Ihave not got the figures to hand, that Ireland has a much higher incidence of lone parenting, even though it, too, is Catholic. Also it is wrong to suggest that Sweden did not previously have a strong tradition of protestant religion and a culture of marriage and 'upright' behaviour. That culture has been undermined. Cultures, even ones heavily influenced by religion, can be changed and have been changed very dramatically around the world in the past 100 years.
Italy itself appears to be in danger on this score. Patricia Morgan reports that in the late 1990s, there was a substantial increase in the level of state support for long parents. It was increased to 9.8 per cent of average male manufacturing earnings.
I would welcome input from those with knowledge of benefit policies for lone parents in Italy, Sweden, Ireland and perhaps elsewhere.
Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in Parenting
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If people build their own retirement funds their pensions will be met from their investment in the world economy, rather than from whoever are the current taxpayers locally.
Posted by: Tim at March 25, 2006 09:38 AM
"Given the emotional suffering experienced by people as a result of lone parenting, teenage pregnancy and divorce..."
I can already hear the soppy Lefties screaming about how it is the Right who cause the suffering (by being so 'judgemental') - not the situations themselves. Bloomin' lefties.
Posted by: Raw Carrot at March 25, 2006 10:37 PM
Tim
Building your own retirement fund won't be of any use to you unless you have people in your country producing goods and services to buy (doctors, nurses, bus drivers, shop assistants etc). If your country in future doesn't have workers, then you will have to move overseas.
Posted by: Peter at April 5, 2006 09:37 PM
Peter,
If you don't have people producing goods and services in your country, then no one can live there!
If some people produce services, the market (i.e. those buying services) will determine what they are.
Posted by: Tim at April 24, 2006 09:11 AM
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You then also have the situation that in Italy the birthrate is 1.2 pr woman, and i Sweden 1.8. So who will finance the system when all are pensioners?
Posted by: Paul at March 24, 2006 10:44 PM