The paper states the necessity for substantial investment in policies to support childhood. Children, considered both in quantitative and qualitative terms, are identified as the focus for the definition of the new welfare balance. First of all, the article considers the reasons that influence the reproductive choices of women and the reasons behind the low fertility rate, analyzing the negative effects on growth and development resulting from present circumstances. In the light of the importance of human capital as a strategic factor of economic growth, the author supports the necessity to invest in a mix of policies which, on the one hand, allows people, especially women, to satisfy their reproductive desires without them becoming an obstacle to participation in the labor market; on the other hand, it aims to support the growth and development of children by overcoming the social and cultural inequalities inherited from their parents, allowing them to acquire skills that can be put to use in the labor market when they are adults.only subscribers can see the full article

Most European countries with liberal and social democratic welfare regimes have redesigned their social policy in recent years, adopting a social investment perspective. In doing so, they often target children and young people, and redeploy policy instruments to achieve goals for the future. There is a growing commitment by the European Union to this supply-side understanding of social policy. This article describes two mechanisms at one work in the social policy field within the institutions of the Eu: one of writing women out of the plot and folding gender into other stories.only subscribers can see the full article