Does it make sense to pay people to have kids?
BBCDoes it make sense to pay people to have kids? Alamy Estonia is experiencing a small-scale 'third-baby boom' thanks in part to a new financial incentive introduced in which families are paid more for a third child The ‘third-baby boom’ The picture is somewhat different across the Gulf of Finland, where the Baltic nation of Estonia has managed to boost its birth rate during the last decade and a half. Puur also cites improved access to affordable public day-care facilities and Estonia’s relatively stable economic growth as factors which may have influenced the birth rate positively. Alamy In 2018 Italy's birth rate hit a new record low, but the province of Bolzano is the exception: it has a birth rate of 1.67 – higher than the EU average of 1.60 Money, and then some Yes, money seems to help – but spurring a meaningful increase in birth rates is more a matter of a complex combination of social attitudes, pro-family policies and financial support, too. Stronger financial support to families is helpful, Tonin says, but he thinks that the key to Bolzano’s higher birth rate is women’s labour market participation.
History of this topic
EU's baby bust: New data reveals the terrifying population plunges across the continent that are set to condemn future generations to life in a crippled economy
Daily Mail
Greece offers incentives in bid to boost birthrate
China Daily
The country with one of Europe’s lowest fertility rates is trying to fix its birthrate crisis
The Independent
Pronatalist policies needed to boost fertility rate
China Daily
Pronatalist policies needed to boost fertility rate
China Daily
France to offer all 18 to 25-year-olds free fertility checks to combat falling birth rates
Daily Mail
Greece to unveil pro-child measures as most of Europe struggles with demographic decline
The Independent
French birth rate hits lowest level in 40 years as women study for longer before having children, report finds
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