WELFARE-STATE REGIMES AND CHILD POVERTY IN THE UK AND HUNGARY

Recent social policy reforms in Hungary have signalled a significant r eduction in state support for working mothers, including the introduct ion of means-tested benefits for families with children. In this artic le we argue that this represents a move towards a welfare-state regime similar to that found in the UK, which, for families with children, e ncourages the 'Breadwinner' household where the father is the sole ear ner and the mother works in the home. Comparative analysis of the inci dence of child poverty in the UK and Hungary in 1993, prior to the rec ent reforms, shows that children in Hungary were less likely to fall i nto poverty than their UK counterparts. We argue that this was a resul t of a combination of generous and universal state benefits for famili es with children, and high rates of labour market participation by mot hers. We maintain that the reforms recently implemented in Hungary can be expected to lead to increases in child poverty, the incidence of w hich is partly determined by the degree of welfare state support for f amilies with children and the extent of female participation in the la bour market.