Abstract

Although affluent democracies experienced family policy expansion, there are remarkable country differences. Whilst some countries focus on policies supporting the male breadwinner model such as family allowances, others prioritise gender equality supporting public childcare. We explain this variation by arguing for governments as key actors in parliamentary democracies and test two sets of explanations: party ideology and women's representation. Our error correction models covering 16 affluent parliamentary democracies between 1991 and 2015 reveal that non-left rather than left parties matter for family policy. Secular centre and Christian-Democratic parties promote father-specific leave, whilst secular right parties reduce spending on childcare and family allowances as well as father-specific leave. The share of female ministers is associated with higher childcare expenses, and instead of women's share, the gender of the family affairs minister affects father-specific leave expansions.