According to a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, countries seeking to encourage women to have more children should follow the family policy currently in place in Sweden.
The issue of increasing birth rates is a great concern for many European countries such as Germany, Italy, and Spain in which the population of the country is estimated to fall to 20% of the current population over the next one hundred years.
In the modern world, parents must be able to combine work with family. In Sweden, childcare is subsidized and parents receive paid parental leave. Countries with more traditional family policies lack the means for parents to remain employed while raising children.
However, countries with subsidized child care and paid parental leave also have higher divorce rates compared to countries with more traditional family policies. In other words, although beneficial for increasing birth rates, the Swedish model may negatively impact marriage rates.
Regardless of any potential negative affects, countries looking to increase their birth rates should adopt family policies similar to Sweden’s.
References
Swedish family policy encourages women to have more children: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/235519.php
Image Credits
Swedish Flag: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Sweden.svg
