Los Angeles Times Examines Italy's Low Total Fertility Rate, Campaign To Boost Population Through Childbearing Benefits

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 09 Feb 2005 - 15:00 PDT

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The... Los Angeles Times on Wednesday examined Italy's low total fertility rate -- slightly more than one child per woman -- and a government-sponsored campaign to boost the country's population through childbearing benefits. Italy's declining population is "condemning" small towns and creating an aging population, which means fewer workers to pay taxes and a growing number of people in need of pensions and elderly health care, according to the Times. If current trends continue, Italy's population could shrink by one-third by 2050. In response, government authorities are offering couples stipends and other incentives for having children. The Italian government offers a one-time payment of $1,300 to couples who have a second child, and officials in the town of Laviano offer couples $14,000 over five years for the birth of a child. Some observers say that rather than providing financial incentives, the solution might be to improve conditions for working women through public policy that provides affordable child care, full-time nurseries and paternity leave and by changing attitudes that allow women to share child care responsibilities with their partners, the Times reports (Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 2/9).

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