The project studies the effects and the efficiency of thirteen family policies in Germany. The effects of interest are whether each policy contributes to the goal of "economic stability and social participation" and whether it helps household to reconcile work life and family life. A main contribution of the project will be to carry out a systematic comparison of the individual policies; by studying their interactions, the project aims at identifying whether there is a potential for an improved harmonization of the individual policies. The analysis will be based on the microsimulation model developed at ZEW. The model takes into account behavioural adjustments of the households. Moreover, for the analysis of selected policies, the microsimulation model will be linked with a model of computable general equilibrium (CGE) in order to evaluate the macroeconomic effects of the policies.