欧洲儿童福利政策:比较及经验借鉴

European Child Welfare Policies:Comparison and Lessons Learned

近年来,随着中国儿童福利需求不断升级,现行的儿童福利政策难以适应新时代发展要求,完善儿童福利政策势在必行。从世界范围看,欧洲国家的儿童福利政策发展较早且较为完备,对现阶段中国儿童福利政策的完善具有十分重要的参考价值。本文以福利体制和社会福利政策分析框架为基础,选取英国、德国和瑞典三个欧洲典型国家进行深入剖析,厘清其儿童福利政策的发展方向和趋势,为中国儿童福利政策的发展提供借鉴。在“三孩政策”的背景下,中国应大力发展适度普惠型儿童福利,完善经济支持、时间和服务政策,建立多元主体共同参与的混合照顾体系,拓宽儿童福利筹资渠道,以设计出适合中国国情的儿童福利政策,通过完善儿童福利政策为生育开启“机会之窗”,并消除儿童福利需求与儿童福利供给之间的现实难题,增进儿童福祉,从而切实解决家庭后顾之忧,提升适龄人群生育意愿。

In recent years,as China’s child welfare needs continue to escalate and new challenges need to be addressed,it has become difficult for the current child welfare policy to adapt to the requirements of the new era,and it is imperative to improve child welfare policies.From a global perspective,European countries have developed their child welfare policies earlier,and have implemented policies that are compatible with their own socio⁃cultural backgrounds and welfare systems,which are very important references for the improvement of China’s child welfare policies.However,fewer studies have analyzed the welfare system and social welfare policies,and the countries selected are not comprehensive enough.Based on Esping⁃Andersen’s theoretical framework of welfare system,this paper selects three typical European countries:Britain,Germany and Sweden,and conducts an in⁃depth inquiry into the child welfare policies of different countries with different welfare systems based on Gilbert’s four⁃dimensional analytical framework of social welfare policies.It is to find out the similarities and differences of their child welfare policies,so as to provide reference for the development of China’s child welfare policies,alleviate the low fertility rate and realize a balanced population growth.Against the background of the“three⁃child policy”,we should vigorously develop moderate and universal child welfare,improve economic,time and service policies,establish a mixed care system with the participation of diversified main bodies,and broaden the financing channels for child welfare,in order to design a child welfare policy suitable for China’s national conditions,and open a“window of opportunity”for childbearing through the improvement of child welfare policies.The“window of opportunity”for childbearing will be opened through improved child welfare policies,and the practical difficulties between the demand for and supply of child welfare will be eliminated,so that children’s well⁃being will be enhanced,thus effectively resolving families’worries and increasing the child⁃bearing willingness.This paper tries to expand existing studies in the following two aspects.On the one hand,unlike existing studies that focus more on the connotation of child welfare or analyze the concept,model,policy evolution and experience of child welfare in Europe,this paper analyzes the European child welfare policies in a multi⁃dimensional and panoramic way.On the other hand,existing literature mostly focuses on the excavation of child welfare policies of individual welfare system countries,and there is a lack of comparative research on child welfare policies of countries with different welfare systems,which fails to highlight the characteristics of child welfare policies under different welfare systems,while this paper combines the welfare system with the analytical framework of social welfare policies,and focuses on the child welfare policies of the Britain,Germany and Sweden.This paper reveals the convergence and divergence of child welfare policies in typical European countries under different welfare systems,which not only provides lessons for China,but also is of great significance in constructing a child welfare policy system that suits China’s national conditions,promotes children’s well⁃being,alleviates the status quo of low fertility,and realizes a balanced population growth.