China Daily Global Edition (USA)
How other countries provide incentives to encourage childbirth
Aging populations and declining fertility rates are global trends, and many countries have taken a range of measures to cope with the challenges they present.
In Toyama, a coastal city on Honshu, Japan’s main island, authorities have built a major nursing facility to support couples raising children. The facility, near the city’s rail station, comprises many elements, including a playground, rooms designed specifically for mothers, nursing facilities for sick children and a library for both children and adults.
To ensure continuity of services for mothers and children, the facility only closes one day a month.
Parents can play games and read with their children, and there are spaces where adults can sit together and discuss issues related to parenting, which helps to relieve stress.
The facility also houses a family support center, where parents can register either to provide assistance — such as taking children to school or caring for them when they are unwell — or receive support.
Since the turn of the century, authorities in South Korea have provided incentives to encourage childbirth in an attempt to reverse the effects of low fertility rates and an aging population.
For example, couples who have difficulty conceiving are eligible for government subsidies to pay for medical treatment, while those with children can claim benefits to help raise their offspring. Couples with several children are given priority when renting or buying houses.
In the late 1980s, Singapore began encouraging more people to have children. Couples with three or more children enjoy favorable tax policies and their children have priority in primary school enrollment.
Couples are also eligible for government subsidies after a birth, with the amount dependent on the number of children they have. In addition, favorable tax policies are used to encourage mothers to continue working.