A Cross-Country Comparison of Family Policies in the Three Nordic Countries : Comparing formal childcare and parental leave policiesof Sweden, Finland, and Denmark

Abstract: The aim of this study is to compare family policies between three Nordic countries. Specifically, the differences and similarities of family policies between the three Nordic countries – Sweden, Finland, and Denmark – regarding formal childcare, parental leave, and parents’ employment are analyzed through a qualitative research method, document analysis. The government documents of three Nordic countries are analyzed. Along with that, the latest differences in family policies between the three Nordic countries in 2019 and 2020 with regards to these aspects are explored through descriptive statistics. Thus, this study adopts a mixed methods design that combines quantitative and qualitative research. Through analysis, this study found that the family policy of Sweden supports the health and lifestyle of families with children and promotes gender equity the most among the three Nordic countries. Sweden has a high formal childcare enrollment rate, a gender-equal parental leave policy, and a high employment rate of women with children. Denmark’s family policy has performed second after Sweden, with high formal childcare enrollment rates and the highest average number of weekly hours in formal care particularly impressive. Finland’s family policy was somewhat inferior to that of Sweden and Denmark because of the relatively low formal childcare enrollment rate, shorter length of parental leave, and the comparatively low employment rate of women with children. This study is of great significance in that it revealed the differences in family policy between the three Nordic countries that were previously unknown. It is also meaningful in that the qualitative findings and quantitative findings were complemented by using a mixed research method.