Friday, March 19, 2004
Fighting the baby "bust"
After World War II we had the baby "boom". Now we are having the baby "bust", as fertility rates drop with a resounding clang all round the Western world (except, perhaps, in the United States). In many countries, deaths are now outstripping births, and the only thing preventing population decline is massive immigration.
Strangely, not all countries are particularly concerned about this. The Ministers of both Immigration and Social Development have resolutely refused to comment, and the government has no official policy, even though Statistics New Zealand has warned that we are very close to the downturn point.
One French-Canadian town in Quebec, Canada, has taken matters into its own hands.
As recently as 1960, Quebec families used to average nearly four children, but today that figure has dropped to 1.4 - a rate well below the rest of North America. But Coaticook, population 9000, is bucking the trend. Its 66-year-old mayor, Andre Langevin, has introduced incentives for couples willing to have more children.
The city writes a $75 cheque to every couple for the birth of their first child, $150 for the second and $750 for every child after that. It offers to reimburse families with three or more children 50 per cent of their costs for cultural and sporting activities, hefty allowances for (cotton only) napkins and, with help from business, a Christmas raffle with prizes of $750 for all families that had babies during the year.
"Family stability, fidelity, lots of children, those are the values I would like to preserve," says Mayor Langevin. Parents say the subsidies for sports and cultural activities help create an exciting atmosphere that encourages young families to stay. Local businessmen say the nurturing of family values has made a difference for them in keeping young workers and that happier, more stable family lives contribute to more productive workers.
After World War II we had the baby "boom". Now we are having the baby "bust", as fertility rates drop with a resounding clang all round the Western world (except, perhaps, in the United States). In many countries, deaths are now outstripping births, and the only thing preventing population decline is massive immigration.
Strangely, not all countries are particularly concerned about this. The Ministers of both Immigration and Social Development have resolutely refused to comment, and the government has no official policy, even though Statistics New Zealand has warned that we are very close to the downturn point.
One French-Canadian town in Quebec, Canada, has taken matters into its own hands.
As recently as 1960, Quebec families used to average nearly four children, but today that figure has dropped to 1.4 - a rate well below the rest of North America. But Coaticook, population 9000, is bucking the trend. Its 66-year-old mayor, Andre Langevin, has introduced incentives for couples willing to have more children.
The city writes a $75 cheque to every couple for the birth of their first child, $150 for the second and $750 for every child after that. It offers to reimburse families with three or more children 50 per cent of their costs for cultural and sporting activities, hefty allowances for (cotton only) napkins and, with help from business, a Christmas raffle with prizes of $750 for all families that had babies during the year.
"Family stability, fidelity, lots of children, those are the values I would like to preserve," says Mayor Langevin. Parents say the subsidies for sports and cultural activities help create an exciting atmosphere that encourages young families to stay. Local businessmen say the nurturing of family values has made a difference for them in keeping young workers and that happier, more stable family lives contribute to more productive workers.
