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A universal child endowment could raise birth rates but would be expensive
It would require society to shoulder the cost of raising Singaporean children.
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Addressing Singapore’s existential challenge of falling birth rates may require rethinking how society shares the cost of raising children, says the writer.
PHOTO: ST FILE
In his dystopian novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley imagined a society where children were raised by the state rather than families.
While none of us may wish for such a future, Singapore’s record low fertility rate is forcing us to confront an uncomfortable truth: many young Singaporeans are unwilling or unable to bear the financial or time costs of starting families or having more than one child.
