Responses to population issues pro-natal and anti natal policies
This essay is going to explain and show us pro-natal and anti-natal policies in the worlds most developed countries. Also, I will state the real reasons of setting this up and the year since they have been using these policies. In this essay I am going to give you an exact definition what a pro-natal and an anti-natal policy is and which advantages and disadvantages they have. An overcrowded population is a big problem for countries and its developing and functioning - welcome to 21st century!
Pro natal - France
Pro natal policy is a governments way of convincing people to have more kids. They might offer rewards such as jobs, cars, money or discounts on certain things. Why do countries have pro natal policies ? The answer is a declining or aging population. That means they are not replacing the generation before. A pro natal policy increases the child birth rate and helps to replace generation before. It may not increase the countries replacement rate to 2.1or more but it helps country to improve the population number. Countries want to control their population to maintain their economic growth as well. Advantage of setting up pro natal policy is that because the population will increase and youth can replace working class of people. Also some people can solve their financial problems by earning a reward for having a second or a third child. The only disadvantage is a overcrowded and uncontrolled number of birth rates that might bring consequences in countries economy, for example unemployment. France's population is entering an increasingly critical state with very low fertility rate and a falling birth rate. An increasing proportion of France's population is now over the age of 60 whilst there are fewer economically active people and even fewer people having children. This presents an economical problem. With less young people in work there is less money funding the elderly which will, eventually, lead to a decline in the standard of care which the elderly can receive. Over 20% of France's population is over 60 and it is predicted that by 2050, a third of the population will be over 60. French government is paying €13 billion for the social security and health care of the elderly. In 1960 the fertility rate of France was 2.75 children per woman, well above the replacement level of 2.1.However by 1992 the total fertility rate had fallen to 1.67, which is lower that the replacement level. In order to recover the fertility rate, France has employed an aggressive pro natal policy which employs a system of monetary incentives and rewards for woman's second or third child. This seems to have helped France's total fertility rate to 1.98 which is still below replacement level. In 1939 the French government set up a pro natal methods in their law.
The pro natal methods include :
1) Offering cash to mothers who stayed at home to care for children.
2) Payment of up to £1060 to couples having their third child.
3) Maternity leave on near full pay for 20 weeks for the first child to 40 weeks or more for the third child.
4) Full tax benefits to parents until the youngest child reaches 18.
5) 30% fare reduction on all public transport for three child families.
6) Pension schemes for mothers.
7) Nursing mothers are encourage to work part-time or take a weekly day off work.
Looking at data currently available regarding France's population, pro natal policy would hint at success. Frances fertility rate has risen from 1.67 in 1992 to 1.98 today, whilst this is still below replacement level, it indicates that the pro natal policy is raising the fertility rate as desired. However, the cost of this policy is diminishing its success. Overall, the success of the policy is debatable. The policy is costing the government billions of euros. The UN is predicting that the population will not increase to the desired amount and analysts predict that France will not be able to raise the fertility rate above the replacement level. The population will only increase by 0.6 million between 2030 and 2050 and the fertility rate is not expected to exceed the replacement level.
Pro natal policy is a governments way of convincing people to have more kids. They might offer rewards such as jobs, cars, money or discounts on certain things. Why do countries have pro natal policies ? The answer is a declining or aging population. That means they are not replacing the generation before. A pro natal policy increases the child birth rate and helps to replace generation before. It may not increase the countries replacement rate to 2.1or more but it helps country to improve the population number. Countries want to control their population to maintain their economic growth as well. Advantage of setting up pro natal policy is that because the population will increase and youth can replace working class of people. Also some people can solve their financial problems by earning a reward for having a second or a third child. The only disadvantage is a overcrowded and uncontrolled number of birth rates that might bring consequences in countries economy, for example unemployment. France's population is entering an increasingly critical state with very low fertility rate and a falling birth rate. An increasing proportion of France's population is now over the age of 60 whilst there are fewer economically active people and even fewer people having children. This presents an economical problem. With less young people in work there is less money funding the elderly which will, eventually, lead to a decline in the standard of care which the elderly can receive. Over 20% of France's population is over 60 and it is predicted that by 2050, a third of the population will be over 60. French government is paying €13 billion for the social security and health care of the elderly. In 1960 the fertility rate of France was 2.75 children per woman, well above the replacement level of 2.1.However by 1992 the total fertility rate had fallen to 1.67, which is lower that the replacement level. In order to recover the fertility rate, France has employed an aggressive pro natal policy which employs a system of monetary incentives and rewards for woman's second or third child. This seems to have helped France's total fertility rate to 1.98 which is still below replacement level. In 1939 the French government set up a pro natal methods in their law.
The pro natal methods include :
1) Offering cash to mothers who stayed at home to care for children.
2) Payment of up to £1060 to couples having their third child.
3) Maternity leave on near full pay for 20 weeks for the first child to 40 weeks or more for the third child.
4) Full tax benefits to parents until the youngest child reaches 18.
5) 30% fare reduction on all public transport for three child families.
6) Pension schemes for mothers.
7) Nursing mothers are encourage to work part-time or take a weekly day off work.
Looking at data currently available regarding France's population, pro natal policy would hint at success. Frances fertility rate has risen from 1.67 in 1992 to 1.98 today, whilst this is still below replacement level, it indicates that the pro natal policy is raising the fertility rate as desired. However, the cost of this policy is diminishing its success. Overall, the success of the policy is debatable. The policy is costing the government billions of euros. The UN is predicting that the population will not increase to the desired amount and analysts predict that France will not be able to raise the fertility rate above the replacement level. The population will only increase by 0.6 million between 2030 and 2050 and the fertility rate is not expected to exceed the replacement level.
On this picture circle represent population of France, and colours inside the circle are showing us number of youth and elderly people.
This picture show us fertility rate of France and it's changing in a period of 50 years.
Anti natal - China
Anti natal policy is a governments way to reduce and to put the limit to the birth rate. The aim of this policy is to decrease the total fertility rate in order to slow the population growth. In this policy women were forced to have only one child, otherwise they would be punished through fees, or less governmental support by the law. There are cash bonuses to families who have only one child. The advantage of setting up anti natal policy is that because the birth rate will decrease and China will not have overcrowding problems any more. Also there will be less pressure on food resources because of less people. Disadvantage of this policy is sex of the child. Most of the families prefer boys because of economical reasons and so the sex ratio between men and women is now 1.18 to 1. By 2020, an estimated 30 million men will be unable to find a wife and have a child. The most famous anti-natal policy in China is their one child policy, which means each family can only have one child. This policy was introduced in 1979 and it is estimated that China's population would be 250 million people larger if the policy had not been introduced.
- The republic of China was formed in 1949 with population of 550 million of people. People were encouraged to have children as they believed this gave them power. By 1990 the population reached 1.13 billion of people. From that moment China started to have problems. How to feed all these people ? As I say at the beginning of this essay an effort to slow down the rate of births was started in 1979. People could not marry before 22 ( male ) and 20 ( female ). They had to apply for permission.
The policy have a series of sections :
1) Age limits and certificates reducing marriages.
2) Free birth control
3) Cash bonuses ( improve housing, free education and medical care )
4) Anyone having more than 1 child would lose all these benefits. Also financial penalties are included.
Later ''Granny police'' were recruited to spy on people who might be trying to keep a pregnancy secret. If woman is pregnant for second time, she has to have abortion if she does not want to be punished. At first the policy looked to be succeeding but opposition grew in rural areas. In Chinese culture boys are more desirable than girls. Sons are more respected because they can continue family name, they can look after their family and they can work better because they are stronger that girls, which is natural fact. The problem which was appeared later is Gender Imbalance ( who will marry all this boys ). This policy helped China a little bit, but it can not function in the future because there will be too many old people, and youth will not replace them because of this policy. China needs new reforms in order to improve condition and to have successful future.
Anti natal policy is a governments way to reduce and to put the limit to the birth rate. The aim of this policy is to decrease the total fertility rate in order to slow the population growth. In this policy women were forced to have only one child, otherwise they would be punished through fees, or less governmental support by the law. There are cash bonuses to families who have only one child. The advantage of setting up anti natal policy is that because the birth rate will decrease and China will not have overcrowding problems any more. Also there will be less pressure on food resources because of less people. Disadvantage of this policy is sex of the child. Most of the families prefer boys because of economical reasons and so the sex ratio between men and women is now 1.18 to 1. By 2020, an estimated 30 million men will be unable to find a wife and have a child. The most famous anti-natal policy in China is their one child policy, which means each family can only have one child. This policy was introduced in 1979 and it is estimated that China's population would be 250 million people larger if the policy had not been introduced.
- The republic of China was formed in 1949 with population of 550 million of people. People were encouraged to have children as they believed this gave them power. By 1990 the population reached 1.13 billion of people. From that moment China started to have problems. How to feed all these people ? As I say at the beginning of this essay an effort to slow down the rate of births was started in 1979. People could not marry before 22 ( male ) and 20 ( female ). They had to apply for permission.
The policy have a series of sections :
1) Age limits and certificates reducing marriages.
2) Free birth control
3) Cash bonuses ( improve housing, free education and medical care )
4) Anyone having more than 1 child would lose all these benefits. Also financial penalties are included.
Later ''Granny police'' were recruited to spy on people who might be trying to keep a pregnancy secret. If woman is pregnant for second time, she has to have abortion if she does not want to be punished. At first the policy looked to be succeeding but opposition grew in rural areas. In Chinese culture boys are more desirable than girls. Sons are more respected because they can continue family name, they can look after their family and they can work better because they are stronger that girls, which is natural fact. The problem which was appeared later is Gender Imbalance ( who will marry all this boys ). This policy helped China a little bit, but it can not function in the future because there will be too many old people, and youth will not replace them because of this policy. China needs new reforms in order to improve condition and to have successful future.
As you can see the ''One child policy'' is not equal everywhere on the China's territory. In most developed areas the law is more strict than in rural areas. The reason of that is because big towns are overcrowded with the huge number of people.
On this picture we can see that China has more males than females. If the Chinese people continue to have preferences for boys, there will be much less women. The problem is marriage and creating family which is impossible for 30 million men like I sad in the essay.
As you can see these pyramids are showing us the changes in Chine's population during the years ( period of 60 years from 1990's to 2050's ).
Conclusion
This essay has examined the impact of pro natal and anti natal policies. Introducing pro natal policy is very good and successful for people but the country's brook monetary is lost in terms of fixing the birth rate. Anti natal policy is good for fixing currently condition, but may bring consequences later such as shortage of young working population which is very important for country's economy. At the end you can watch two videos which represent these policies.
This essay has examined the impact of pro natal and anti natal policies. Introducing pro natal policy is very good and successful for people but the country's brook monetary is lost in terms of fixing the birth rate. Anti natal policy is good for fixing currently condition, but may bring consequences later such as shortage of young working population which is very important for country's economy. At the end you can watch two videos which represent these policies.