The municipality of Ulricehamn has 22 542 inhabitants. The aim is to become 25 000 inhabitants in 2020. How do you increase the number of inhabitants in a town? Well, one way is to increase national or international immigration. Another option is to increase fertility rates.
Yesterday my sister Hanna turned 34 and naturally I called to congratulate her. She was arranging a mother – baby party at home as ALL her friends have had babies in the last year (and Hanna had fantastic little Ellen 6 months ago). I think it interesting how these things work out. Are they having a baby boom in south Sweden or is this an isolated event? We have our children later in life (average age for the first child is 29 years for women in Sweden) but currently it looks like the fertility levels in Sweden are higher then in other countries. Why is that? Is it due to the development of generous family policies? In Sweden we have very generous parental leave benefits (one year paid leave to take care of our children) subsidised childcare and high child allowances. Basically the Swedish government is using economic incentives to get more women pregnant but does this work?
Well, I had a look at what is going on around the world and how other countries are doing when it comes to fertility levels. Birth rates in the European Union are falling fast. Europe's working-age population is shrinking as fertility rates decline. It is estimated that for Europe to achieve a population replacement level, the birth rate should be 2.1 children per woman.
According to numbers from 2005 Ireland has the highest birth rate in the EU. Irish women have 1.9 children each, with the European average at 1.5. Ireland also has a relatively young population, which probably have an effect on the statistics. France says it has now probably overtaken Ireland as Europe's most fertile country, with French women having an average of two children each. What is interesting with France is the fact that France can still boast one of Europe's highest rates of female employment. Some 81% of women aged between 25 and 49 are in work, including three-quarters of those with two children.
Italy has serious fertility problems. The birth rate of Italy, at a rate of 1.23 children per woman is the second lowest in the Western world. Women rarely have more than one child.
In order to change this the Italian government decided to give a 1000-euro bonus to each newborn child. In the small town of Laviano in Italy, the mayor decided to use even stronger financial incentives to increase the birth rate in his own town. He decided to offer women 10 000 euros over a five year period for each additional baby they have.
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics did a study on how financial incentives can boost pregnancies and their results support the view that fertility responds to financial incentives and indicate that the child subsidy policies used in many countries can have a significant influence on fertility decisions. The positive birth rate figures in Sweden and France confirm this but I think one need more that financial incentives to increase fertility levels.
When I lived in the Netherlands I was surprised at the number of highly educated women who were at home with their children or who only worked part-time (just imagine the brain drain and the costs for society!!). Day care facilities were expensive and offered less quality care then Swedish day care but this was not the only reason for women (and very rarely men) to stay at home. The cultural climate differed from Sweden. Many of my friends did not feel the same trust for the social system as Swedish people tend to do. The emancipation debate took place on a totally different level and many of my friends felt that it is in a mother’s nature to care for her child. Well, our genetics should not differ too much between the countries but the cultural differences and the social heritage has a major impact on the choices people make. I also think role models play an important role, especially for women who want to make a career and combine this with family life.
Looking at fertility rates in Sweden in the last years one could say that economic incentives will get you pregnant but that is only telling half the story. Good quality childcare, a generation of women who showed us the way (thank you mum!) and a soft culture where men are included in the upbringing of their children are just as important as financial incentives. Maybe we cannot use (any extra) financial incentives to increase the fertility levels in Ulricehamn but maybe we can use financial incentives to attract new inhabitants. What if the municipality offered a (financial?) bonus for people who attract new inhabitants?
As for the baby boom in my sisters’ surroundings I think nothing has a bigger impact on fertility levels then friends having babies. Luckily, with 3 kids at home, I think I have become immune to the baby virus:)!
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