Cross-national comparison of economic inequality among households with children

The paper consists of three parts. The first part presents empirical results on the economic situation among Japanese households with children. The second part compares and analyzes cross-national micro-data on households with children. And, lastly, I discuss attitudes toward child-rearing policies in the United States, France, Sweden, South Korea, and Japan. In Japan, a larger extent of income inequality is manifest particularly among households with young children. The poverty rate among households with young children is higher in Japan than France and Sweden. The need for child-rearing policies in Japan is not differentiated as largely as in other countries by household income. Poor or rich, people strongly desire more robust economic support for child rearing in Japan.