Why Hungary’s lavish family subsidies failed to spur a baby boom
The country led by Viktor Orban spends 5% of GDP on trying to raise birth rates, but increases have levelled off.
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Hungary’s family subsidies include tax breaks that increase with the number of children and other allowances.
PHOTO: AFP
Marton Dunai and Valentina Romei
Julia Scharle, 33, has benefited from some of the world’s most generous schemes to support childbearing.
As the Hungarian mother and her husband had their three children, they received more than €80,000 (S$116,000) in grants and loans from the government, including a grant of about €6,000 to help them buy a new Renault Scenic minivan – large enough to carry everyone.
