The declining fertility rate - Singapore
Introduction
Singapore currently has a very low birth rate. Fertility began falling from the 1960s and 70s (Saw, 1980 and Chen, 1977) from a high Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 5.76 in 1960 to a low 1.29 in 2012 and the lowest recorded in 2010 at only 1.15 (Department of Statistics, 2013). This is much lower than the replacement rate of 2.1, which is a worrying concern for the nation. It is a pressing issue which has led to many changes in policies with respect to other issues related to it, such as immigration and ageing population.
This paper seeks to analyse the causes of the low TFR, issues related to it and its impacts. We also aim to evaluate how this problem and its repercussions are handled and conclude by giving our suggestions on how the problem could be tackled.
Causes of fertility decline
Fertility rates is highly dependent on marriages. Thus the factors influencing marriage and marital fertility affects TFR. These causes expressed in terms of family planning policies, changing attitudes, access to better contraceptives, economic development and increased cost of living either impact people’s willingness to get married, have children, or both, causing the decline in TFR.
a. Family planning policies
Family planning activity started in 1949 and was actively carried out by the board in 1966 (Chen, 1977). The 70s ‘Stop at two!’ policies were made to facilitate better planning of families, a matter of national importance. Abortions and sterilizations were legalized here.
Figure 1: Total live-births & TFR (Source: Population trends 2013)
According to Figure 1, TFR successfully decreased with tremendous effect from the policy launched in the 70s. The TFR has generally been dec...
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...there are various factors that have led to the low fertility rate of Singapore. This has brought differing impacts on the nation. Various policies have been implemented to tackle this issue, but not all have been successful.
We too have given our suggestions. However, every policy comes with its own limitations. Not everyone may be convinced alike. With larger monetary incentives comes greater tax on the citizens. The effects of the policies too cannot be seen immediately and the government itself could improve ways to measure the effectiveness of every policy. But such long term measures are vital, so that the root cause of the problem can be solved, for Singapore to have a sustainable population. Short-term solutions are necessary for immediate change, but the main goal in mind should be to focus efforts on increasing fertility rate to replacement level of 2.1.
When looking at the development of abortion policy, it is clear that it has always been a subject of controversy. Campaigns for the legalisation of...
The population control program in Indonesia has come a long way since it was established by the Indonesian government in the late 1960s. The Indonesian family planning (FP) program which is held by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) has implemented the concept of how to form happy and prosperous families as a means to improve family welfare. However, the concept was not separated from the main purpose of the population control program, which basically focuses on the contraceptives’ use in order to reduce the fe...
...n policy with the introduction of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) program, and show that “an additional year of schooling reduces the number of children born before age 25 by 0.26”. Similarly, an additional year in Schultz’s studies presented a fertility reduction of 13%. Schultz also affirms in his studies that family planning as well as other factors do not have a negative correlation with fertility as much as education does. Moreover, 13 out of 14 countries in a study done by Ainsworth et al. (1996) conform to the hypothesis of education reducing fertility. In addition any action taken that is related to education can have a noticeable impact on fertility. For example, providing free school uniforms for children in Kenya encouraged the girls to stay in school and actually reduced the fertility by 3% (from 14% to 11%) (Duflo, Deupas Kremer and Sinei, 2006).
Feng Wang and Cai Yong stated that the fertility rate was already declining and the policy wasn’t necessary for the Chinese people, especially because of the enormous costs. The fertility rate, which is the number of children the average woman has in her lifetime, in China started at 2.7 in 1979 and decreased to 1.7 in 2008. The article “China’s One Child Policy at 30” argued that the policy did not need to be introduced in China because the rates were already lower than Brazil at 4.2 and Thailand at 3.6.
Many scientist and specifically sociologists are concerned with the population on planet Earth. Many couples today are choosing not to have children. This choice does not just effect the couples personally, however it effects the whole country's demographic. The increase in childlessness among couples generates economic and social problems. Many countries are facing this problem. Hara in a journal article mentions that Japan and Germany are a couple of the countries that are going through childlessness (Hara, 2008).Today, more than 80 countries depend on immigration to prevent the populations from declining, due to the death rate being higher than birth rate. (Becker-Posner, 2013) How will declining birth rates affect demographics in many countries around the world? How will it affect the Global economy? How will it affect societies in different countries; will it raise social and racial tensions? Will it affect relations
According to the Hong Kong Economic Times, the pregnancy rate amongst teenage girls in Hong Kong was rising in recent years, with most of them are from lower income group. Alia Eyres, chief executive of Mother’s Choice, a non-profit community organization that provides care for single girls and their families facing unwanted pregnancies, said that the statistic from last year show that a total of 3066 pregnant unmarried women had seek them for help, 8.6% higher than the previous year. And there were 27% were under the age of 18, the youngest was only 12 years old.
Cross culturally fertility and childbearing are a major concern due to the significance of passing on heritage, family names, and values to the next generation. Additionally, in many cultures the children are responsible for the care of their parents when they become elderly. Infertility is a universal concern in both Western and developing countries. It is estimated that up to 168 million people across the globe are affected with infertility. The bulk of these cases reside within developing countries (Vayena & Rowe, 2002). When couples are having trouble conceiving a child it is a source of distress for both partners (Helman, 2007, p. 176). This distress can be manifested in a variety of ways that adversely affect the family structure.
However, the wish of having multiple children, especially boys, was challenged by the strict One Child policy in 1979. The One Child policy, also known as Family Planning policy, was implemented across the country as one of fundamental national policies under the administration of Population and Family Planning Commission. Based on the purpose of lowering fertility rates to ease social pressure and improve living standard, a married couple is only allowed to have one child with some exceptions made for some ethnic minorities and rural families. The majority of citizens are classified by ethnics and occupations to fit the specific regulations of compensations and punishments to prevent them from having a second child (Li, J., & Cooney, R, S. 1993).
The article that I researched regarding this area explores the reasons why women may be taking the steps to start a family without marriage, whether these pregnancies are planned or unplanned. The study was conducted using a couple of different methods including the National Survey of Family Growth and a Discrete-Time Hazard Model. “The National Survey of Family Growth is a periodic, nationally representative fertility survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
In Spite of the great achievements that China has achieved in the recent years, our country is still a developing country, which is facing many serious social problems. The most serious of all is overpopulation, for it has a passive influence on the national economy, education and environment.
Teitelbaum, Michael S., Jay Winter. “Low Fertility Rates - Just a Phase?” YaleGlobal Online. Yale Global, 9 Jul. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
The first factor that affects the human population is Fertility, i.e., number of children born. (Brain, 2013, page100).In 1951, the sex ratio of India (number of males per 100 females) was estimated to be 105 to 108 due to the male favoured society at birth and high female feticide. The sex ratio increases to a faster rate for urban areas than rural areas. (Sanyal S.K., 1985, page1130). Fertility varies from socioeconomic groups, more educated are supposed to have less children, thus, less urban population of rural areas than urban areas and it also varies by religion, in India there is an evidence that there is high fertility rate among Muslims than any other major religion. However, fertility differentials occur to the account of differences
In the governments view the policy was remarkable, but little do they know how many families the law has damaged. Decreasing the number of babies being born impacts the traditional family structure. “On the township roads, there are slogans written on flamboyant red banners, telling peop...
The birth rate also varies between traditional and modern societies. Women in traditional societies gave birth to many children, because many children made light work. The more children a family had the more hands they had for their chores. Parents in traditional societies have high expectations for their children and delegate many duties. Children in modern societies have a much simpler life. The average child today spends hours watching television and playing video games rather then tending to chores or helping their parents. People of modern societies have less children which is proven through the recorded low birth rates. It is very expensive to raise a child in a modern society; therefore, m...
Singapore’s population size has been increasing steadily over the past few years but only 60% of the population are Singaporeans. In order to increase the population size, there were new policies implemented. It is no secret to all Singaporeans that Singapore has had a low fertility rate for the past few decades. To tackle the problem, the Singapore government has introduced a number of policies to encourage young, married couples to start having more children in order to increase the population size.