The Impact of Policy on Family Structure

Types of Policies

- Direct policies: Policies that promote or reject certain household structures, e.g tax allowances for married couples.

- Indirect policies: Policies that may not have intended to impact on household structures but one implemented had an impact, e.g the Equal Pay Act.

Impacts on Family Structures

- Increased cohabitation and delayed marriage.

- Increased divorce.

- Same-sex families.

- More lone-parent families.

Increased Cohabitation and Delayed Marriage

- Career aspirations of women mean that marriage is delayed as women are focused upon their careers.

- Availability of contraception and legalisation of abortion means couples can delay having children.

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