13/05/2025
Large Families: The Forgotten Poverty Risk and Policy Relevance.
International Journal of Social Welfare 34(1-2), 2025.
Special Issue Launch
14 May 2025, 15.30-16.30 IST, NUI Merrion Square and online
Sponsored by UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice
We invite scholars and policy-makers to the special issue launch for Large Families: The Forgotten Poverty Risk and Policy Relevance. This special issue brings large families back on the social policy research agenda and underscores the continued relevance of large families in contemporary societies with a focus on three main questions: First, we show that families with three or more children remain a relevant feature of modern families and even more so from a child perspective. Second, all contributions show an elevated poverty risk of large families, especially among children growing up in families with four or more children. Third, we show how social transfers and services shape the lives of large families differently and observe punitive approaches alongside pro-natal welfare schemes. At the launch event we discuss policy solutions and a future research agenda that mainstreams large families in social policy research with experts and policy-makers.
Programme
15.30 – 16.30 IST (Dublin) / 16.30 – 17.30 CET (Berlin) / 10.30 – 11.30 EDT (New York)
Local Time
Presenter and Title
15.30
Welcome
Stephan Köppe / Megan Curran
15.40
Tony Fahey: Large Families in Historical Context
15.50
Kat Chzhen: Benefit Caps and Penalties on Large Families
16.00
Naomi Feely (TBC): Policy Lessons followed by Q&A
16.30
Reception
Please register at Eventbrite for both, either the online or in-person attendance:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/special-issue-launch-large-families-tickets-1352846142229
Venue: NUI (National University Ireland), 49 Merrion Square East, Dublin 2
OpenStreetMap.
Contents
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-2397.large-families
Köppe, S., & Curran, M. A. (2025). Large Families: The Forgotten Poverty Risk and Policy Relevance. Editorial. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(2), e12722. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12722
Chzhen, Y., & Bradshaw, J. (2025). The two-child limit and child poverty in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12642. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12642
Köppe, S., Curran, M. A., & Aldama, I. (2025). How Large Families Fare in Germany: Examining Child Poverty Risks and Policy Solutions. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12639. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12639
Heitzmann, K., & Pennerstorfer, A. (2025). Large families and poverty in Austria: What explains their disproportionate risk of experiencing income poverty? International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12667. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12667
Aprea, M., Gallo, G., & Raitano, M. (2025). The large family penalty in Italy: Poverty and eligibility to minimum incomes. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12668. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12668
Ilmakunnas, I., Mäkinen, L., & Hiilamo, A. (2025). The role of social transfers in reducing the poverty risk for larger families in the European Union. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12675. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12675
Cutuli, G. (2025). Poverty exposure and poverty persistence for large families in Europe. A dynamic perspective. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12718. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12718
Herke, B. (2025). Large and/or single-parent families: Public attitudes towards pronatalist and anti-poverty family policies in Hungary. International Journal of Social Welfare, 34(1), e12691. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12691
In the 2010s, new family benefits were introduced in Hungary, focusing on large families to halt population decline. However, poverty reduction became sidelined, as these schemes benefited higher-inc...
