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> The problem is not their refusal to accept foreigners but rather they are not fixing the real problem (low birth rates). How can you fix low birth rates once

> The problem is not their refusal to accept foreigners but rather they are not fixing the real problem (low birth rates). How can you fix low birth rates once the process is in decline? Are there any successful examples of a country that has gotten rich, or is getting rich, that has done it succesfully? Every example I've read says no, regardless of geography or culture. It seems an impossible problem to fix. In South Korea for example, I've read they've tried a veriety of incentives, and none work. The pressure to climb into or stay in the middle class, squeezes families or would-be mothers to work more, leading inevitably to lower birth rates as wages have stagnated over the past few decades (oversimplyifing but this applies everywhere).

pjc50 4y ago
It does not seem impossible to me: once there is a falling population, the house price pressure should ease. And no country has really pushed for paying people to have children.
- lr4444lr 4y ago
  While I don't deny housing costs are a contributing factor in some (many?) cases, the strongest correlate seems to be legal and cultural female equality. I don't mean this judgmentally; it's simply by my crude observation the overwhelming factor. Childbearing requirements and expectations on the female just doesn't seem compatible with post-industrial era career aspirations.
- patrickk 4y ago
  No country has pushed for paying people to have children... er what? This is simply false. Plenty of countries have monthly child benefit payments, just a few examples I know of [1], [2] [3] [4]. You can easily google "child benefits [country]" to find loads more examples. There are direct government payments and/or tax breaks in many countries. Countries with decent social welfare systems usually have some form of financial support during parental leave, for both mothers and fathers too. These efforts don't really have much of an impact to raise birth rates. [1] https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/child_benefit.html https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_... [2] https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/social-security/child-benefits-germany-kindergeld https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/social-security/child-ben... [3] https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit/before-you-claim/check-if-you-can-get-child-benefit/ https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit/bef... [4] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/03/asia/south-korea-worlds-lowest-fertility-rate-intl-hnk-dst/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/03/asia/south-korea-worlds-l...

pjc50 4y ago

It does not seem impossible to me: once there is a falling population, the house price pressure should ease. And no country has really pushed for paying people to have children.

lr4444lr 4y ago
While I don't deny housing costs are a contributing factor in some (many?) cases, the strongest correlate seems to be legal and cultural female equality. I don't mean this judgmentally; it's simply by my crude observation the overwhelming factor. Childbearing requirements and expectations on the female just doesn't seem compatible with post-industrial era career aspirations.
patrickk 4y ago
No country has pushed for paying people to have children... er what? This is simply false. Plenty of countries have monthly child benefit payments, just a few examples I know of [1], [2] [3] [4]. You can easily google "child benefits [country]" to find loads more examples. There are direct government payments and/or tax breaks in many countries. Countries with decent social welfare systems usually have some form of financial support during parental leave, for both mothers and fathers too. These efforts don't really have much of an impact to raise birth rates. [1] https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/child_benefit.html https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_... [2] https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/social-security/child-benefits-germany-kindergeld https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/social-security/child-ben... [3] https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit/before-you-claim/check-if-you-can-get-child-benefit/ https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit/bef... [4] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/03/asia/south-korea-worlds-lowest-fertility-rate-intl-hnk-dst/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/03/asia/south-korea-worlds-l...