31Restitution is a third principle, which meant the inclusion of elements
that existed in the welfare system of pre-war Lithuania. One example was
the Labour Exchange institution, which is now a modern institution that
ensures survival in periods of unemployment and assists in finding a job.
As competition in the free market left part of the society outside the
labour market and without earnings, the Labour Exchange provided
some help, especially in periods of economic instability. The fourth prin-
ciple (innovation) includes measures such as the Minimum Standard of
Living that is unique to Lithuania and is used in the formulas for calcu-
lating social benefits.
All four principles together led to the creation of a rather extensive
though not very effective social protection system (Bernotas and
Guogis 2009 : 204–242). Meanwhile, there were important changes
in family trends: postponement of weddings and childbirths, non-
marital cohabitation, childbirth outside of wedlock, and other alter-
native family patterns have increased significantly over the last decade
in Lithuanian society (Stankūnienė and Maslauskaitė 2009 ;
Maslauskaitė 2009 ; Stankuniene and Maslauskaite 2008 ). Initially
this was met with opposition from some segments of society, for
example, older generations, Conservative political parties, and others,
but new family patterns and conjugal and procreative behaviours
eventually became an integral part of daily life, and attitudes to fam-
ily de-standardisation and pluralisation became more tolerant and
diversified (Mitrikas 2000 , 2007 ). People at various life stages started
to construct their family life in more varied and contrasting forms
(Česnuitytė 2014 ).
During the period beginning 2004, when Lithuania joined the
European Union, until the global economic crisis of 2008, the state pro-
vided support to families with at least one child, improved maternity
leave, and introduced paternity leave. However, the economic crisis
prompted radical cuts in measures favourable to family formation and
stable living conditions. Families again started to look for new ways of
surviving. One option is migration, which has led to the emergence of a
new phenomenon – a significant increase in transnational families who
have members spread across different countries (Maslauskaitė and
Stankūnienė 2007 ). On the other hand, migration also brought new
Contextualising Personal Networks Across Birth Cohorts...