Home > CSC-OpenAccess Library > Manuscript Information
EXPLORE PUBLICATIONS BY COUNTRIES |
 |
 |
EUROPE |
|
MIDDLE EAST |
|
ASIA |
|
AFRICA |
| ............................. | |
|
United States of America |
|
United Kingdom |
|
Canada |
|
Australia |
|
Italy |
|
France |
|
Brazil |
|
Germany |
|
Malaysia |
|
Turkey |
|
China |
|
Taiwan |
|
Japan |
|
Saudi Arabia |
|
Jordan |
|
Egypt |
|
United Arab Emirates |
|
India |
|
Nigeria |
Equity and Family Policies for Sustainable Development:
Evaluating the Impact of the E-Family Program (2021-2025)
Luana La Bara, Gioia Maurizi, Gloria Fiorani
Pages - 102 - 123 | Revised - 31-08-2025 | Published - 31-10-2025
Published in Special Issue of 3rd Business Research & Management (BRM) Conference: Towards A More Sustainable World (SIBRM13)
MORE INFORMATION
KEYWORDS
Welfare State, Equity, Sustainable Development, European Social Fund Plus, Social
Inclusion.
ABSTRACT
This study examines the E-Family Program (2021–2025) in the Lazio Region (Italy), financed by
the ESF+, as an initiative supporting families and work-life balance. The research integrates
ISTAT demographic data (2020–2023), policy documentation, and primary survey data to
evaluate the program’s effectiveness in promoting social equity and demographic sustainability. A
specific focus is placed on Municipality IV of Rome, a context directly known and experienced by
the authors. This local case was chosen not only for its demographic and socio-economic
characteristics but also because of the authors’ direct engagement with the territory. Several local
nursery schools, recognizing the importance of the topic, voluntarily collaborated in distributing
the survey, enabling the collection of exploratory data. The findings reveal structural barriers and
funding limitations that constrain the program’s impact, particularly in terms of equitable access to
services and support for working mothers. While the E-Family initiative aligns with EU priorities,
its current form appears insufficient to reverse the decline in fertility or ensure inclusive access to
early childhood services. Future research could replicate and scale this analysis, offering more
targeted policy insights for improving family support across Italian regions.
| Abrami, V. T., & Sorvillo, M. P. (1993). La fécondité en Italie et danssesrégions: Analyse par période et par génération. Population (French edition), 48(3), 735-751. https://doi.org/10.2307/1534103. | |
| Andrews, R., Beynon, M. J., & McDermott, A. (2019). Configurations of new public management reforms and the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of public healthcaresystems: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Public Management Review, 21(8), 1236-1260. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2018.1561927. | |
| Arts, W., & Gelissen, J. (2002). Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more? A state-of-the-art report. Journal of European Social Policy, 12(2), 137-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952872002012002114. | |
| Bachtler, J., & Polverari, L. (2007). Territorialcohesion and the European model of society. In Deliveringterritorialcohesion: Europeancohesion policy and the European model of society. Routledge. | |
| Barth, E., Reisel, L., & MisjeØstbakken, K. (2024). The equalityhurdle: Resolving the welfare state paradox. Work, Employment and Society, 38(3), 766-786. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170231155293. | |
| Bogie, J., Bezzina, C., Lunan, C., Mercer, S., & Blane, D. (2024). What interventions have addressed the inverse care law in general practice in Scotland over the last 20 years? A systematics coping review. British Journal of General Practice, 74(Suppl 1). https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp24x737529. | |
| Briggs, A. (1961). The welfare state in historical perspective. European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 2(2), 221-258. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003975600000412. | |
| Bywaters, P., Brady, G., Bunting, L., Daniel, B., Featherstone, B., Jones, C., & Webb, C. (2018). Inequalities in English child protection practice under austerity: A universal challenge? Child & Family Social Work, 23(1), 53-61. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12383. | |
| Castles, F. (1989). Welfare and equality in capitalist societies: How and why Australia wasdifferent. In Australian welfare: Historicalsociology (pp. 56-73). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11081-0_3. | |
| Causa, O., & Chapuis, C. (2009). Equity in student achievement across OECD countries: An investigation of the role of policies. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, 708. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/223056645650. | |
| Cepiku, D., & Mastrodascio, M. (2021). Equity in public services: A systematicliteraturereview. Public Administration Review, 81(6), 1019-1032. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13402. | |
| Charbonneau, E., & Riccucci, N. M. (2008). Beyond the usual suspects: An analysis of the performance measurement literature on social equity indicators in policing. Public Performance & Management Review, 31(4), 604-620. https://doi.org/10.2753/PMR153-9576310405. | |
| Comolli, C. L., & Vignoli, D. (2021). Spreading uncertainty, shrinking birthrates: A natural experiment for Italy. European Sociological Review, 37(4), 555-570. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcab001. | |
| Dabinett, G. (2017). The territorial dimension of EU policies and spatial inequalities. In Uncovering the territorial dimension of European Union cohesion policy (pp. 44-60). Routledge. | |
| Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU. (2019). Official Journal of the European Union, L 188, 79-93. | |
| E-Family SG. (2025, February 25). E-Family Program website. Retrieved from https://efamilysg.it/. | |
| Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The threeworlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton University Press. | |
| European Commission. (2021). Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R1057. | |
| European Commission. (2025, February 25). European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). Retrieved from https://european-social-fund-plus.ec.europa.eu/en. | |
| European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2021). Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of 24 June 2021 establishing the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013. Official Journal of the European Union, L 231, 21-59. | |
| Harris, B. (2018). The origins of the British welfare state: Society, state and social welfare in England and Wales, 1800-1945. Bloomsbury Publishing. | |
| Hermans, K., Greiss, J., Delanghe, H., &Cantillon, B. (2023). Delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights: Towards a needs‐based distribution of the European social funds? Social Policy & Administration, 57(4), 464-480. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12879. | |
| Hippe, R., Araújo, L., & da Costa, P. D. (2016). Equity in education in Europe. Publications Office of the European Union. | |
| ISTAT. (2022). Rapporto annuale sulla popolazione italiana. ISTAT. | |
| Koslowski, A., McLean, C., & Naumann, I. K. (2015). Report on incentive structures of parents’ use of particularchildcareforms. FamiliesAndSocieties Project. | |
| Legislative Decree No. 105 of 30 June 2022. (2022). Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, Serie Generale, 176. | |
| Lewis, J. (1993). Women and social policies in Europe: Work, family and the state. Edward Elgar. | |
| Lewis, J. (1997). Gender and welfare regimes: Furtherthoughts. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 4(2), 160-177. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/4.2.160. | |
| Monedero, P. J. A. (2019). Family laws in the European Union. SocialinÄ—Teorija, Empirija, PolitikaIrPraktika, 19, 87-94. https://doi.org/10.15388/STEPP.2019.13. | |
| Moreno, L., & McEwen, N. (2005). Exploring the territorialpolitics of welfare. In The territorialpolitics of welfare (pp. 1-40). Routledge. | |
| Municipality of Rome, IV District. (2025, September 15). Municipio IV. Retrieved from https://comune.roma.it/web/it/municipio-iv.page. | |
| Municipality of Rome. (2023). Annuario statistico 2023. Roma Capitale. | |
| Neyer, G. (2003). Family policies and lowfertility in Western Europe. DiscussionPapers, 2003-021. Institute of EconomicResearch, HitotsubashiUniversity. | |
| Oppido, S., Ragozino, S., & Esposito De Vita, G. (2023). Peripheral, marginal, or non-core areas? Setting the context to deal with territorial in equalities through a systematic literature review. Sustainability, 15(13), 10401. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310401. | |
| Osman, F. A., & Bennett, S. (2018). Political economy and quality of primary health service in rural Bangladesh and the United States of America: A comparative analysis. Journal of International Development, 30(5), 818-836. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3343. | |
| Phibbs, S., Kenney, C., Rivera-Munoz, G., Huggins, T. J., Severinsen, C., & Curtis, B. (2018). The inverse response law: Theory and relevance to the aftermath of disasters. International Journal of EnvironmentalResearch and Public Health, 15(5), 916. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050916. | |
| Pinto, A. F., & Gonçalves, H. (2023). Europeantendencies of territorialization of incomeconditionalpolicies to insertion: Systematic and narrative review. Societies, 13(8), 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13080185. | |
| Prandini, R. (2006). Framing Europe: L’emergere di un welfare state attivo mother-friendly e le sue conseguenze per la famiglia. Sociologia e Politiche Sociali, 9(1), 1000-1040. | |
| Regione Lazio. (2025, February 25). Rapporti salute materno-infantile. Retrieved from https://regione.lazio.it/enti/salute/salute-materno-infantile/rapporti. | |
| Salvati, L., Benassi, F., Miccoli, S., Rabiei-Dastjerdi, H., & Matthews, S. A. (2020). Spatial variability of total fertility rate and crude birth rate in a low-fertility country: Patterns and trends in regional and local scale heterogeneity across Italy, 2002-2018. AppliedGeography, 124, 102321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102321. | |
| Saraceno, C. (2011). Family and the welfare state in Europe: Intergenerational relations in ageing societies. International Review of Sociology, 21(3), 601-602. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2011.625671. | |
| Smith, H. K., Harper, P. R., & Potts, C. N. (2013). Bicriteriaefficiency/equityhierarchical location models for public service application. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 64(4), 500-512. https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2012.68. | |
| Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Exploratory research in the social sciences (Vol. 48). Sage. | |
| United Nations. (2025, February 25). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://sdgs.un.org/goals. | |
| Van Lancker, W. (2018). Reducing inequality in childcare service use acrossEuropeancountries: What (ifany) is the role of social spending? Social Policy & Administration, 52(1), 271-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12311. | |
| Van Lancker, W., & Van denHeede, A. (2021). Economic equality and the welfare state. In Equality: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 199-230). Springer. | |
| Van Lancker, W., & Van derHeede, S. (2020). Social policies and childpovertyreduction: A comparative analysis. Journal of Social Policy, 49(3), 487-506. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279419000724. | |
| Wang, H., Mu, R., & Liu, S. (2018). The effects of privatisation on the equity of public services: Evidence from China. Policy &Politics, 46(3), 427-443. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557317X14938075758967. | |
| Webb, C., Bywaters, P., Scourfield, J., McCartan, C., Bunting, L., Davidson, G., & Morris, K. (2020). Untangling child welfare inequalities and the ‘inverse intervention law’ in England. Children and Youth Services Review, 111, 104849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104849. | |
| Wildowicz-Szumarska, A. (2022). Is redistributive policy of EU welfare state effective in tackling income inequality? A panel data analysis. Equilibrium: Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 17(1), 81-101. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.004. | |
| Zuindeau, B. (2005). Équité territoriale: Quelleslectures par lesthéoriesdu développement durable? Reflets et Perspectives de la Vie Économique, 44(4), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.3917/rpve.444.0005 | |
Dr. Luana La Bara
Faculty of Economics/Department of Management and Law, “Tor Vergata” University of Rome, 50 Cracovia St., 00133 Rome - Italy
luana.la.bara@uniroma2.it
Dr. Gioia Maurizi
Faculty of Economics/Department of Management and Law, “Tor Vergata” University of Rome, 50 Cracovia St., 00133 Rome - Italy
Dr. Gloria Fiorani
Faculty of Economics/Department of Management and Law, “Tor Vergata” University of Rome, 50 Cracovia St., 00133 Rome - Italy
|
|
|
|
| View all special issues >> | |
|
|
