Long-term Trends of Level and Structure of Family Benefits in Austria

Family benefits in Austria, as a percentage of GDP, slightly exceed the OECD average. Monetary benefits largely dominate benefits in kind, although their share has decreased markedly since 2000. At the same time, several reforms within the monetary benefit system have encouraged the participation of fathers and improved the compatibility of work and family obligations for both parents. Austrian public expenditure on family support, in a narrower sense, has increased from 6.6 billion € in 2000 to nearly 10.3 billion € in 2016. At a ratio of 2.9 percent of GDP in 2016, spending has edged down from 3.1 percent in 2000 and has virtually stagnated since 2006. Since the population up to age 19 is in secular decline, per-capita family benefits follow a long-term upward trend, rising from 3,540 € per child in 2000 to almost 6,000 € nominal in 2016.