On Aug 7 2007, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh wrote:
note that the highest birthrates in europe are in societies where opportunities for women have been matched by their social treatment, such as scandinavia and to some extent france (where state or employer childcare is of a relatively high standard). in some of these countries, native population birthrates are at almost replacement levels. (though births - and upbringing of children - are often outside marriage).
i guess you are right here. france for instance made a deliberate choice after the second world war to recruit women to the labout force, whereas germany decided for an immigration policy. however whether there is a correlation is not too sure imho. the uk has reproduction rate comparable to france without an expensive childcare policy.
while these solutions are expensive, often for the taxpayer, the alternative, of a greying society supported by a shrinking working-age population, is much more expensive.
maybe reproduction is overrated? immigration would be by far cheaper and more sustainable on a global scale.
--bernhard
