Does social investment make the labour market ‘flow’? Family policies and institutional complementarities in Italy, Spain, Japan and South Korea

This chapter investigates whether social investments improve labour market flow by focusing on work–family reconciliation policy and women's labour market participation. It provides an overview on which institutional configurations one should consider to understand how the labour market flows during women's life cycles. The chapter then analyses Italy, Spain, Japan and South Korea and their institutional configurations. By investigating social investment latecomers in East Asia (Japan and Korea) and Southern Europe (Spain and Italy), the chapter reveals that social investment reform itself does not automatically lead to higher female employment rates, because the effectiveness of work–family reconciliation policy hugely depends on the institutional context. Ultimately, the chapter asserts that social investment strategies should be context-sensitive and tailored to different structural and institutional configurations if they are to be suitable and effective. It claims that, in order for social investment reform to be successful, complementary institutional reform is required.