Low Fertility, Institutions, and their Policies

Low Fertility, Institutions, and their Policies
Author: Ronald R. Rindfuss
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2016-06-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319329979

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This volume examines ten economically advanced countries in Europe and Asia that have experienced different levels of fertility decline. It offers readers a cross-country perspective on the causes and consequences of low birth rates and the different policy responses to this worrying trend. The countries examined are not only diverse geographically, historically, and culturally, but also have different policies and institutions in place. They include six very-low-fertility countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Taiwan) and four that have close to replacement-level fertility (United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, and France). Although fertility has gone down in all these countries over the past 50 years, the chapters examine the institutional, policy, and cultural factors that have led some countries to have much lower fertility rates than others. In addition, the final chapter provides a cross-country comparison of individual perceptions about obs tacles to fertility, based on survey data, and government support for families. This broad overview, along with a general introduction, helps put the specific country papers in context. As birth rates continue to decline, there is increasing concern about the fate of social welfare systems, including healthcare and programs for the elderly. This book will help readers to better understand the root causes of such problems with its insightful discussion on how a country’s institutions, policies, and culture shape fertility trends and levels.

Low and Lower Fertility

Low and Lower Fertility
Author: Ronald R. Rindfuss
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2015-10-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319214829

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This volume examines two distinct low fertility scenarios that have emerged in economically advanced countries since the turn of the 20th century: one in which fertility is at or near replacement-level and the other where fertility is well below replacement. It explores the way various institutions, histories and cultures influence fertility in a diverse range of countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. The book features invited papers from the Conference on Low Fertility, Population Aging and Population Policy, held December 2013 and co-sponsored by the East-West Center and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA). It first presents an overview of the demographic and policy implications of the two low fertility scenarios. Next, the book explores five countries currently experiencing low fertility rates: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. It then examines three countries that have close to replacement-level fertility: Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Each country is featured in a separate chapter written by a demographer with expert knowledge in the area. Very low fertility is linked to a number of conditions countries face, including a declining population size. At the same time, low fertility and its effect on the age structure, threatens social welfare policies. This book goes beyond the technical to examine the core institutional, policy and cultural factors behind this increasingly important issue. It helps readers to make cross-country comparisons and gain insight into how diverse institutions, policies and culture shape fertility levels and patterns.

Low Fertility and Reproductive Health in East Asia

Low Fertility and Reproductive Health in East Asia
Author: Naohiro Ogawa
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9401792267

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This book provides a unique blend of social and biomedical sciences in the field of low fertility and reproductive health. It offers a significant contribution to understanding the determinants of low fertility mostly in East Asia, including an assessment of the effectiveness of policies that aim to raise fertility. It introduces new analytical tools and methods and shares application of innovative approaches to analyzing cross-sectional and longitudinal survey data and macro socioeconomic data to shed light on changing mechanisms of low fertility in the context of reproductive health. The volume introduces the demographic dividend into the study of fertility, analyzes possible impact of population ageing on the amount of resources allocated to child rearing, i.e. the so called "crowding effect" in social care and public spending between the elderly and children. The book also tests the Low Fertility Trap (LFT) hypothesis, a new important theory regarding fertility trends. The book focuses on East Asia which is numerically large but relatively under-researched with regard to issues covered in various chapters. The relevance of the volume, however, goes beyond countries in East Asia. The book breaks new grounds and reveals little known facts regarding the influence of endocrine disruptors on male fertility through falling sperm counts, the phenomenon of marital sexlessness and about the sexual behavior of adolescents in East Asia.

Policy and Population

Policy and Population
Author: Mingean Park
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024
Genre:
ISBN:

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The population reflects the potential of a society or nation, and population structure has consistently garnered attention as a key factor in shaping government policies and administration. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that marriage and childbirth are crucial factors in explaining population increase and are indicators of a society's viability. This dissertation, consisting of three essays, examines how government policies affect people's decisions about having children. This will be accomplished by analyzing the policies of OECD member nations, with a particular emphasis on the cases of South Korea--which has the lowest fertility rate in the world--and the United States--which places a higher priority on immigration and abortion restrictions. The dissertation will present both theoretical and empirical evidence in the field of public administration and policy concerning fertility issues. In the first essay, a noteworthy point is the family policy-related expenditures used by OECD countries, where services such as childcare and education were statistically insignificant and demonstrated the lowest policy impact. On the other hand, financial support and tax breaks favorably influenced fertility. Administratively and in terms of policy, state tax benefits impact people's reproductive choices most, and this strategy can provide the most effectively implemented policy outcomes for enhancing the total fertility rate. Consequently, it follows naturally that greater state engagement in service delivery will not improve fertility results. The OECD Family Database displays that many OECD nations with low fertility tend to prioritize service spending. Therefore, the chapter's findings suggest that tax breaks, which influence people's fertility behaviors, should be prioritized when designing policies to address low fertility. The second essay employed a spatiotemporal model to assess the effects of low birthrate response initiatives with a policy bundle approach to supplement the variety of policy environments. The policy bundle approach identified and measured variables that impact fertility trends from the pertinent legislation of 226 local governments in South Korea. The study examined legislative strengthening, increasing support for first-born children, and financial incentives as policy bundles, examining these laws since the timing of fertility-related legislative revisions has the greatest influence on the birth rate. The chapter results showed that the policy bundle significantly affected all birth order rankings, with a trend for the policy's impacts to diminish with increasing birth order. Thus, to support married couples' ability to conceive and nurture children, policies aimed at families must be strengthened. Given the substantial impact that regional spatial factors have on the crude birth rate, areas where low birth rates are anticipated may need to work together or implement suitable remedies through population impact assessments. Event studies showed that fertility dynamics are influenced by socioeconomic shifts, such as economic crises and rapidly rising real estate values, and that population policies for the lowest fertility rates have been less and less successful in recent years. These changes in the population suggest that the government should adopt more aggressive policy measures. The third essay examines the causality between the abortion restriction and Americans' fertility behavior, concentrating on Kentucky and Illinois. According to the research findings, Kentucky's prospective birthrate is negatively impacted by the abortion restriction. This indicates that while the abortion ban could appear to force childbirth, which would boost births initially, there might be long-term negative externalities. Moreover, the prohibition on abortion may lead to problems with hospital and obstetric services, which might be harmful to maternal and infant health. Thus, this chapter makes the case that the abortion debate ought to be approached from the standpoint of the public interest rather than as a political or religious one. The study suggests that careful consideration of alternatives and thorough policy research should be done before enacting an abortion ban in the United States due to the possible long-term harm to public health. This dissertation offers a theoretical framework and possible empirical models in population policy research. It begins by presenting a model of fertility behavior developed with Ostrom's SES and IAD frameworks. Concerning births, this fertility behavior model shows how the interplay between macro-level national policy and micro-level personal decision-making affects the population. Demographic policies, including state-mandated birth control or abortion ban, have historically impacted individual decision-making, which in turn has affected the demographic structure of the country. This mechanism suggests that population structure is influenced by policy. Furthermore, this dissertation supports Calhoun's experiments by showing that civilizations characterized by fierce rivalry and constrained space may be unable to allocate resources effectively and run the danger of going extinct. A community with just rivalry and no collaboration among its members is unsustainable, and a population confined to a small area suffers. In this sense, the sustainability of humankind depends on increasing human habitat through space exploration or technological breakthroughs.

The Population Bomb

The Population Bomb
Author: Paul R. Ehrlich
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1971
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9781568495873

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International Handbook of Population Policies

International Handbook of Population Policies
Author: John F. May
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 863
Release: 2022-07-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3031020405

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This Handbook offers an array of internationally recognized experts’ essays that provide a current and comprehensive examination of all dimensions of international population policies. The book examines the theoretical foundations, the historical and empirical evidence for policy formation, the policy levers and modelling, as well as the new policy challenges. The section Theoretical Foundations reviews population issues today, population theories, the population policies’ framework as well as the linkages between population, development, health, food systems, and the environment. The next section Empirical Evidence discusses international approaches to design and implement population policies on a regional level. The section Policy Levers and Modelling reviews the tools and the policy levers that are available to design, implement, monitor, and measure the impact of population policies. Finally, the section New Policy Challenges examines the recurrent and emerging issues in population policies. This section also discusses prospects for demographic sustainability as well as future considerations for population policies. As such this Handbook provides an important and structured examination of contemporary population policies, their evolution, and their prospects.

Fertility and Public Policy

Fertility and Public Policy
Author: Noriyuki Takayama
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2010-12-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0262295121

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Experts discuss the appropriateness and effectiveness using public policy to influence fertility decisions. In 2050, world population growth is predicted to come almost to a halt. Shortly thereafter it may well start to shrink. A major reason behind this shift is the fertility decline that has taken place in many developed countries. In this book, experts discuss the appropriateness and effectiveness of using public policy to influence fertility decisions. Contributors discuss the general feasibility of public interventions in the area of fertility, analyze fertility patterns and policy design in such countries as Japan, South Korea, China, Sweden, and France, and offer theoretical analyses of parental fertility choices that provide an overview of a broad array of child-related policy instruments in a number of OECD and EU countries. The chapters show that it is difficult to gauge the effectiveness of such policy interventions as child-care subsidies, support for women's labor-force participation, and tax incentives. Data are often incomplete, causal relations unproved, and the role of social norms and culture difficult to account for. Investigating reasons for the decline in fertility more closely will require further study. This volume offers the latest work on this increasingly important subject.