Public Policy and Family Economic Stability: Fostering Security in Macroeconomic Instability

Dear Colleagues,

Growing macroeconomic instability and inequality require concerted policy reforms that foster greater economic security and well-being for families and communities to ensure all can participate fully and meaningfully in society. Grounded in evidence that family economic security is a requirement for a healthy economy and democracy, this Special Issue invites conceptual and empirical contributions that offer concrete and actionable policy solutions that can build family economic security. We welcome original papers that draw on original or secondary data and aim to have a mix of studies using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Contributions should be forward-looking in providing solutions to the problem of family economic insecurity. We are particularly interested in contributions with an attention to policies that can support economically, socially, and ethnically marginalized populations and diverse family forms beyond the nuclear family.

Areas of interest for this issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The promise and impact of labor and employment laws and policies that foster greater employment and income stability among those in precarious employment arrangements;
• The role and impact of universal programs (e.g., healthcare, child care, child allowances, employment security) in maintaining economic security and stability;
• Advances in paid leave policies (e.g., paid family leave, sick leave, paid-time off) to reduce economic insecurity during family transitions and illness, and the role of paid leave policies in supporting family flourishing;
• Innovative policy reforms that reimagine eligibility requirements and the scope of benefits within a program with the goal of fostering greater inclusion and economic security;
• Policy administrative reforms that reduce barriers to access, renewal, and receipt of social benefits, and the impact of reforms on economic security and stability.

Dr. Dylan Bellisle
Dr. Renada Goldberg
Guest Editors

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