Work and family constraints can lead to too few children and too little employment, affecting quality of life and economic performance. Yet many parents would like to go out to work more, while others would like to spend more time raising their children. What can policymakers do to help parents achieve a better work/family balance? The OECD’s Babies and Bosses series offers some lessons.

“Innovation: Advancing the OECD Agenda for Growth and Equity”: that is the theme of this year’s annual Ministerial Council on 15-16 May, and it reflects what many governments believe are clear priorities. (Chair's conclusions now available!)

Home ownership, rather than rented accommodation, has become the norm in most OECD countries over the last 20 years. In fact, Germany is the only OECD country where the owner occupation rate is well below 50% of the total.