The study, which looked at 14 EU countries, found that benefits had a"small but significant effect on the prevalence of single mothers".
Libertad Gonzalez of Barcelona's Universitat Pompeu Fabra estimates thatincreasing benefits by 13 a week would result in a two per centincrease in rates of single motherhood.
But Janet Allbeson, policy adviser for the charity One Parent Families'said the research gave a misleading impression of single parents. "Itmakes a very simplistic link between benefit levels and the incidence oflone parenthood, and uses a very selective comparison," she said.
The US, added Allbeson, has a higher proportion of lone parents than theUK, yet has a welfare system that is quite punitive.
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