Pro-Natalism and Anti-

Natalism
Pro-Natalism and Anti-Natalism

 A pro-natalist
policy is a population policy which
aims to encourage more births through the use of
incentives.
 An anti-natalist policy is a population policy
which aims to discourage births. This can be done
through education on family planning and
increased access to contraception, or by law
(China—One Child Policy.)
France: reasons for pro-natalism

 France was concerned with the following:

Decrease in supply of labor (economically
active population)
Long term prospect of population decline
Other issues concerning ageing populations
What does France do?

 Originally France took severe methods—in addition to normal cash

incentives to mothers who stayed at home and subsidized holidays,
they banned contraceptives. This was later repealed in 1967.
 Currently France pays up to 1264 Euros to couples that choose to
have a third child.
 There are also regular family allowances, maternity leave at near
full pay (ranges from 20 weeks for a first child to 40 or more for a
third)
More incentives…

 30% fare reduction on all public transport for 3 child

families
 Pension schemes for mothers/housewives
 Government sponsored daycares
 Nursing mothers are encouraged to take a weekly day off
work
Pros/Cons

 Complex and not always consistent

More than 30 measures to evaluate
Hard to determine how much to incentivize having one child versus, say
3
 Expensive
Somewhat significant part of government budget
 Shows clear gender equality
Does not discriminate if parent(s) are married or not
 Has achieved success
France TFR is now 2.01—TFR of EU is 1.60
 Singapore

 Singapore is an example of both anti-natalism and pro-natalism!

 It is currently employing pro-natalist policies.
 Singapore was a longtime British colony in Southeast Asia—it achieved
independence in the 1960s as a multicultural city-state.
 As a developing country, Singapore was worried that its fertility rate was leading
to a population explosion--problematic for a country that is only the size of a
city.
 They implemented anti-natalist policies by heavily funding family planning
programs.
 Referred to as the “Stop at Two” campaign—rewarded those who had 1 or 2
children and punished those who had more than two
 Mothers who had a third child could not get maternity leave, for example
Shift to Pro-Natalism

 While the “Stop at Two” policy achieved success, it coincided with strong
economic growth—Singapore turned from a poor country to one of the
wealthiest in the world.
 In 1986, the Singaporean government realized that there would be negative
effects of an excessively low fertility rate (ageing population)
 They reversed course entirely, shifting from “Stop at Two” to “Have Three or
More”
 All previous punishments/rewards were revoked—new rewards were given for
having more children
 Mothers would get 750 SGD for a third child
 Priority housing for larger families
Singapore Today

 Today Singapore has one of the lowest TFRs in the world—1.29.

 The pro-natalist policies have increased year by year, but are struggling to
change the mindset that was instilled by previous anti-natalist policies
 Singapore is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, relying on a diverse
population of ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians who each bring something to
the table
 They have arguably the strongest education system in the world (highest IB
scores and diploma pass rates!)
 They struggle with worker shortages due to their ageing population, so they are
encouraging immigration in addition to their pro-natalist policies