Published December 24th, 2006 by Future Atlas
Germany: demography — paying for parenting
Der Spiegel reports that German women will be trying to delay birth for the next week, as a new law will make it much more lucrative to be a parent after December 31st.
The government will greatly increase subsidy payments to new parents — up to €1,800 ($2,380) a month for 14 months.
This is an attempt to stave off population decline, which according to the Federal Statistical Office could lower the population from 82 million people to 69 million by 2050. As in places such as Japan and Russia, Germans fear the consequences for the pension system, the labor force, and the nation’s innovation capabilities.