Social Welfare and the Family in Southern Europe

Abstract

Abstract Abstract After a critical analysis of the main typologies of welfare states in Europe, emphasizing the way they appear to neglect the southern countries, the author presents some of the arguments that might support the definition of a 'southern' profile of social welfare, pointing to socio-demographic characteristics, dominant values about private life and the way in which laws are produced in southern Europe. The author emphasizes the particular role played by the family and forms of primary solidarity and argues for the development of more genetic approaches, assigning a more central role to the 'family question' in these countries.