For others, such as the low-skilled, it may become increasingly difficult to escape poverty. Understanding how changes in family structure, particularly among those at risk of low income, might evolve over the next 20 years is therefore of considerable importance for policy makers. It starts by reviewing the current state of low-income families, looking at their evolution over recent decades and at the factors that have driven these changes. The next section then looks at the influence that the policy environment has had on low-income families across countries, examining the role of taxes and transfers, institutions, and policies towards families with children on poverty outcomes. Three specific issues are addressed in the following section: how the persistence of poverty, the experience of young people, and migration influence social cohesion.