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An Assessment of Policies that Support Having Children from the Perspectives of Equity, Efficiency and Efficacy

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  • Peter McDonald

Abstract

In a context where 46 countries now consider their fertility rate to be too low, attention is turning to the need for policy actions to increase fertility rates. This article discusses the reasons why action is required and why countries have been slow to take policy action. It then considers a wide range of possible policies and assesses them against a set of eleven social policy principles. The policies examined include tax-transfer policies, subsidised services, childcare and early childhood education, parent leave and working hours policies, employment policies for young people, public education campaigns and broader social arrangements. The conclusion drawn is that the focus of policy should not be pronatalism as such but support for families with children. Support for families with children means good family policy, good gender policy, good employment/human capital policy, good child development policy and, if there is a need to increase or sustain birth rates, it will also mean good birth policy.

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  • Peter McDonald, 2006. "An Assessment of Policies that Support Having Children from the Perspectives of Equity, Efficiency and Efficacy," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 4(1), pages 213-234.
    • Handle: RePEc:vid:yearbk:v:4:y:2006:i:1:p:213-234
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    1. Peter Mcdonald, 2006. "Low Fertility and the State: The Efficacy of Policy," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 32(3), pages 485-510, September.
    2. Wolfgang Lutz & Vegard Skirbekk, 2005. "Policies Addressing the Tempo Effect in Low‐Fertility Countries," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 31(4), pages 699-720, December.
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    1. Maria Rita Testa & Vegard Skirbekk & Wolfgang Lutz, 2006. "The Low Fertility Trap Hypothesis. Forces that May Lead to Further Postponement and Fewer Births in Europe," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 4(1), pages 167-192.
    2. Dumanska, Vita, 2013. "Монетарний Пронаталізм: Оцінка Ефективності [Monetary Pronatalism: Performance Evaluation]," MPRA Paper 48943, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Joshua R. Goldstein & Tomáš Sobotka & Aiva Jasilioniene, 2009. "The end of 'lowest-low' fertility? (with supplementary materials)," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-029, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Ivica Urban & Martina Pezer, 2020. "Compensation for Households with Children in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 203-235, January.
    5. Tomas Frejka, 2016. "The demographic transition revisited: a cohort perspective," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2016-012, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Nick Parr, 2011. "The contribution of increases in family benefits to Australia’s early 21st-century fertility increase: An empirical analysis," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(6), pages 215-244.
    7. Lynch, John & Meunier, Aurélie & Pilkington, Rhiannon & Schurer, Stefanie, 2019. "Baby Bonuses and Early-Life Health Outcomes: Using Regression Discontinuity to Evaluate the Causal Impact of an Unconditional Cash Transfer," IZA Discussion Papers 12230, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Tomas Frejka & Tomáš Sobotka, 2008. "Overview Chapter 1: Fertility in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(3), pages 15-46.
    9. Ross Guest & Nick Parr, 2013. "Family policy and couples’ labour supply: an empirical assessment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 1631-1660, October.
    10. Aart C. Liefbroer & Dimiter Philipov & Francesco C. Billari, 2006. "The Postponement of Childbearing in Europe: Driving Forces and Implications," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17.
    11. Mengni Chen & Stuart Gietel-Basten & Paul S. F. Yip, 2020. "Targeting and Mistargeting of Family Policies in High-Income Pacific Asian Societies: A Review of Financial Incentives," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(3), pages 389-413, June.

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