Abstract:
German Basic Law sees „marriage” and „family” as core elements of society - assuming that families are those units that by bearing and raising children provide a society's future and that marriages are fundamental for families. Accordingly, all social policy measures should support (or at least not disadvantage) marriages and families. This article shows that supporting marriages and supporting families are conflicting aims. It shows that measures which are intended to support families in raising children induce adaptive behaviour of (potential) parents that erodes marriage as an institution. In consequence, female incentives to bear children might be reduced by measures that were intended to augment them. Copyright 2008 die Autorin Journal compilation 2008, Verein für Socialpolitik und Blackwell Publishing Ltd.