I have mentioned many times how countries seeking to inspire people to have more children mostly fails. They offer too little to make a difference, their approaches are nowhere near bold enough. And too often they focus on short-term bonuses and benefits, rather than long-term. Free child-care is one of the best policies. Hungary has …
Category Archives: Countries
China Needs Some Shock and Awe
Incremental improvements to what China offers to their people to inspire them to have more children will never be enough. They need to think of what a decade’s worth of bribes will look like and put them all on the table, all at once, so people take notice and seriously consider it. Otherwise, it is …
Wars hasten population decline – who knew?
Russia’s population is decreasing quite rapidly. WSJ says: At least 150,000 Russians are dead on the battlefield, according to Western estimates. Nearly a million fled the country after the war began. The number of births is at its lowest in more than two decades, with bigger-than-average drops in babies born in some regions closest to …
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Korean Government Encourages Blind Dates
As an experiment it was interesting, from 50 men and 50 women, just over 50% of them rated each other in the top 3 matches, for 27 couples who can now go on a date. But just like UBI, it is a limited experiment. There will be no desire to expand it greatly. And if …
Cuba down 18% in one year
Low fertility affects populations, but slowly, because people live for 80 years or so. Cuba doesn’t have a fertility problem, it has a “I don’t want to live here any more” problem. There can be a snowball effect – the more of your relatives have fled to Florida, the more appealing it becomes to go …
Russia goes Authoritative / Next Level on Fertility
It has been clear over the last few years that incentives and positive reinforcement are not helping stem reduced fertility levels in countries globally. At best they are making the decline less bad, but not stopping it. For counties with an iron grip over their citizens, unimaginable responses might occur. Keep in mind China’s historical, …
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11 Million Empty Homes in Japan
Japan has millions of abandoned rural houses for sale. The glut delights foreigners, who’ve been able to buy one for as little as US$23,000. But underlying the surplus are meaningful shifts in Japan’s culture. Demographic and economic patterns – including a shrinking population and migration from the countryside to cities – are combining to create a …
When Will Population Peak in Your Country
This graph from Statista accounts for fertility decline and current rates of immigration, to come up when actual population will start to decline in some countries
Tokyo Dating App – Another Weak Response
When one of the globe’s largest economies is facing a demographic crisis, throwing $3M at an app won’t help, especially when it is run by the Tokyo government. Absurdly: Japanese media reports that said the app will require a confirmation of identity, such as a driver’s license, your tax records to prove income and a …
Hong Kong – Cash Bonus for Babies
Every advanced economy except the US is suffering from a fertility rate that is too low. While immigration can offset that, not many people are keen at present to move to Hong Kong, given all of its recent problems. People have been leaving, of course. The number of children being born in Hong Kong each …