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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's birth rate hit a 25-year low in the first half of 2024, with 599,600 births.</li><li>The demographic crisis worsened due to the Ukraine war, causing many to delay having children.</li></ul>Russia could be running out of Russians.In the first half of this year, Russia's population recorded its lowest number of births in 25 years, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/EDN_06-2024.htm">official data</a> published on Sunday.From January to June, 599,600 babies were born in Russia — 16,500 fewer than the same period last year. It's also the lowest since 1999, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-birth-rate-slides-lowest-quarter-century-2024-2024-09-10/">Reuters'</a> analysis.Births fell to 98,700 in June — the first monthly decline of births in Russia. It's also the first time the number of births in a month dipped below 100,000.Russia has rolled out incentives encouraging childbirth, including a <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/74177">one-time payment</a> of 1 million rubles, or $11,000, for Russian mothers who have 10 or more children. The women will also receive a "Mother Heroine" title — a Soviet-era award Putin revived in 2022.However, Russia's birth rate remains dismal, prompting a politician to suggest that the country launch a "special demographic operation."Russia's birth rate was 8.3 per 1,000 people for the first half of this year — down from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.CBRT.IN?locations=RU">10 per 1,000 people</a> in 2019. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm">The latest data from the US</a> showed the country's birth rate was 11 per 1,000 people in 2022."We must organize ourselves and conduct another special operation," Nina Ostanina, the head of the Committee for the Protection of Families, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ria.ru/20240906/demografiya-1970945022.html">RIA,</a> a state news agency, last week."Just like a special military operation — a special demographic operation," Ostanina added, referencing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Russia, which has a population of about 146 million, has been in a demographic crisis even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but the war likely put people out of the mood to have more babies.A study from Russia's HSE University showed one-third of Russians decided to postpone or give up having kids due to the war in Ukraine, <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/moscowtimes_ru/25537">Moscow Times</a> reported on Tuesday.Furthermore, over 300,000 Russian troops died or were injured in the Ukraine war by the end of 2023, <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-intelligence-assesses-ukraine-war-has-cost-russia-315000-casualties-source-2023-12-12/">US intelligence officials</a> estimated. An estimated 1 million people fled Russia after the war broke out, deepening a <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-economy-brain-drain-labor-shortage-workforce-exodus-capital-flight-2023-9">brain drain</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-lacks-workers-ukraine-war-labor-crisis-worker-shortage-2023-12">labor crunch</a> in the country.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in July that Russia's low birth rate mirrored similar trends in Europe and Japan, according to state news agency <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://tass.ru/obschestvo/21455167">TASS</a>."This is catastrophic for the future of the nation," Peskov said at the time.An Atlantic Council report last month said Russia's demographic crisis was so dire that the <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-population-decline-worker-shortage-growth-outlook-ukraine-war-2024-8">country's population could be halved</a> by the end of the century.Russian President Vladimir Putin himself is paying special attention to demographic issues.In November, Putin sang the praises of large families, <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-war-putin-urges-russians-8-kids-amid-demographic-crisis-2023-11">calling on women to have eight children</a> — or more.Earlier this year, Putin called on Russians to have more babies for <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-calls-russians-more-babies-ethnic-survival-economy-2024-2">ethnic survival</a>.

A Russian politician says the country needs a 'special demographic operation' to boost its birth rate, which has crashed to a 25-year-low

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Declining birth rates are a huge problem for Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.</li><li>Some cities are implementing radical measures, like funding a dating app to raise fertility rates.</li></ul>Vanessa Lee, 28, knows what kind of parent she wants to be if she ever has kids."I want to be very hands-on. I want to be able to give my child whatever they want," said Lee, who got married last year.These expectations, however, have steered Lee and her husband away from starting a family in Singapore."If the child is going to come and tell me, 'Oh mommy, I want you to stay at home with me all the time' — that's not something we can give the child because both of us have full-time jobs and we are not willing to give up our jobs to be stay-at-home parents," Lee said.Declining birth rates have been a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asia-countries-worry-fertility-rate-affect-armies-few-soldiers-experts-2024-6">huge bugbear for Asian countries</a> like Japan and South Korea.On Wednesday, Japan's Internal Affairs Ministry revealed that the country's total population has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-population-decline-births-foreign-5de77bda9305476d0baf020889094a60">declined for the 15th straight year</a> in 2023.Likewise for Korea, which has the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/09/asia/south-korea-government-population-birth-rate-intl-hnk/index.html">world's lowest fertility rate,</a> at 0.72 births per woman for 2023.The double whammy of an aging population and a shortfall in births have raised alarm bells among their governments, which seek to avert the economic and social consequences that come with a demographic crisis.Years of pro-natalist policies, however, have barely lifted their birth rates. Cities like Tokyo and Seoul have started to roll out extreme measures to encourage people to start making babies — but demographic experts caution that such policies may address the symptoms, but not the roots, of the problem.<h2 id="6dcc3088-9dc1-4c13-98ac-7cd140b84e1f">Asian governments really, really want their people to have kids</h2>Earlier this month, Tokyo's government said it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-government-launching-dating-app-marriage-rates-population-decline-japan-2024-6">invested $1.28 million in a dating app</a> for its residents, per the local newspaper <a target="_blank" href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15292637">The Asahi Shimbun</a>. The app is expected to be launched this summer."We hope that this app, with its association with the government, will provide a sense of security and encourage those who have been hesitant to use traditional apps to take the first step in their search for a partner," a Japanese official told The Asahi Shimbun.The dating app has even caught the attention of billionaire <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, who has often <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-warns-developed-world-to-have-more-babies-italy-2023-12">warned of the disastrous consequences</a> that come with low fertility rates."I'm glad the government of Japan recognizes the importance of this matter. If radical action isn't taken, Japan (and many other countries) will disappear!" Musk wrote in an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1798360824853282923">X post</a> in June.Meanwhile, in Seoul, the South Korean government is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-pay-reverse-vasectomy-tubal-ligation-birth-rates-low-2024-5">offering up to $730 in incentives</a> to people looking to reverse their vasectomies or tubal ligations.This is on top of the country's extensive policies to encourage childbearing, which include <a target="_blank" href="https://english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-metropolitan-government-to-increase-subsidies-for-citizens-in-their-20s-seeking-egg-freezing-and-double-the-number-of-beneficiaries-across-all-age-groups/">subsidies for women to freeze their eggs</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-parents-south-korea-seoul-750-per-month-population-declines-2024-2">an allowance system for parents with newborns</a>."These, in a way more radical proposals, are probably a result of policymakers feeling this sense of desperation," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://faculty.smu.edu.sg/profile/paulin-tay-straughan-1431">Paulin Straughan</a>, a sociology professor at the Singapore Management University, told BI. "All the traditional ideas that we had don't seem to work. So we have to try more novel ideas to push the needle."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/our-people/faculty/tan-poh-lin">Poh Lin Tan</a>, a senior research fellow at Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies, says there still could be some value in rolling out micro-interventions like Tokyo's and Korea's."It may actually be rational to pursue policies at the fringe, due to the high difficulty of engineering the societal change that addresses root causes, and instead look for low-hanging fruit in the form of low-cost interventions that can make a difference," Tan said.Countries who find themselves turned off by the financially onerous policies implemented by Nordic countries like Sweden and Finland — including heavily subsidized childcare and housing allowances — may want to score a bigger bang for their buck through one-off handouts.And it doesn't have to be as radical as making a dating app. Countries like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.madeforfamilies.gov.sg/support-measures/raising-your-child/financial-support/baby-bonus-scheme">Singapore</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3264045/hong-kong-gives-out-hk35-million-baby-bonuses-experts-say-raising-birth-rate-requires-policy-rethink">Hong Kong</a> have given families cash bonuses when they welcome a newborn.In Singapore, parents can receive $11,000 each for their first and second child and $13,000 for each subsequent child.But such measures do not seem to appeal to young women like Lee, who believe that having a child is a big commitment.<div type="image" title="Vanessa Lee (left) and her husband, Jonas Hue (right), both 28. The couple got married in 2023." height="427" width="640" msid="112094071" hostid="261"></div>Lee, who owns two dogs and a cat, said that governments may be overestimating the effectiveness of one-off interventions in bolstering birth rates."Sure, you can get more people to get married, and then the chances of people having kids maybe will increase a little bit. But I think unless you solve the main issue of making it easier for parents to care for their kids sustainably, it will still be hard," Lee said.She added that a shift in societal mindsets toward work and family needs to occur for her peers to consider having children."It's not just about popping a kid out. It's about becoming a parent and thinking long term — how will I take care of the kid?" she continued.Some would-be parents are put off by the financial costs of starting a family, which aren't solved by one-off baby bonuses."I wouldn't choose to spend a part of my income on children because it's expensive," content creator <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-china-not-having-kids-tell-us-why-2024-2">Emily Huang</a>, 29, told BI earlier this year."The biggest thing on my mind right now is how I am going to fund my retirement. I feel like with my current income level, I can't retire comfortably anytime soon," she continued.<h2 id="34e2b598-f664-4326-89db-9a50f3b91029">Governments need to rethink their approach to the demographic crisis</h2>Experts that BI spoke to said that while the measures may be well-meaning, they are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/throwing-money-schemes-wont-solve-global-fertility-crisis-demography-experts-2024-6">unlikely to reverse their countries' demographic trajectory</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://iems.ust.hk/people/faculty-associates/gietel-basten-stuart">Stuart Gietel-Basten</a>, a social science and public policy professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that governments are tackling the "wrong problem" if they think that low birth rates are simply due to people not having sex."Of course, it's the wrong problem. Most people in order to have children have sex, that is true. But it also doesn't guarantee that having sex brings children and that not having sex is the only reason why people are not having children," Gietel-Basten said."We've got plenty of policies which have been designed to increase birth rates, and there is very little, if hardly any, evidence at all to show that these policies have worked," he added.SMU's Straughan said that countries would be better off trying to realize the potential of their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-retirement-crisis-pensions-aging-population-social-security-workforce-2024-5">aging and graying populations</a>."At some point, we have to accept that there's going to be a greater proportion of people who want to stay single. That's okay," Straughan said. "But concurrently, we then have to say, if we're going to have more seniors now, then what do we need to do differently in order to maximize their potential?"Having more seniors, Straughan said, need not be a bad thing for societies. They can still contribute to society as volunteers, even after retirement, she said.But governments should not brush aside their dwindling fertility rates entirely.Low birth rates, according to HKUST's Gietel-Basten, are a "barometer of the challenges in society" and should thus be seen as "symptoms of problems in a society.""Just hectoring and bullying young people into having more children is not the answer, right? Because people don't have children for the state, and people certainly don't have children to save a pension system," he said."We have to listen to young families and genuinely try to support them. And until that happens, we're not going to get anywhere by coming up with funny ideas and imposing them in a top-down way," he added.

Asia's governments think people not having sex or dating may be tanking their birth rates. That's not the full picture.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China's falling birth rate is leading to the closure of many hospital obstetrics departments.</li><li>The fertility decline has forced hospitals to offer other services.</li></ul>People in China are having fewer babies — so much so that many hospitals in the country have stopped delivery services altogether, as the state-owned Chinese newspaper <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_26712179">The Paper</a> reported Monday.The trend appears to have started last year when some <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/05/closure-of-maternity-wards-fuels-chinese-debate-over-population-decline">hospitals in China shut their obstetrics departments</a>, with The Paper also <a target="_blank" href="https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_24765638">reporting on the phenomenon in September</a>.It's unclear exactly how many hospitals have shut their obstetrics departments or halted newborn-delivery services in the past year, but the closures are continuing into 2024.Hospitals that have shut obstetrics departments this year include the <a target="_blank" href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TXRMnsIJG6QHVuk8C_ppoQ">Fifth People's Hospital of Ganzhou City</a> in the southeastern province of Jiangxi and the <a target="_blank" href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/pRkw_LKE29KpP5jVnwRO9g">Jiangshan Hospital of Traditional Medicine</a> in the eastern province of Zhejiang.The Jiangxi hospital said in on its WeChat social-media account that the closure was because of the institute's "development plan," while the Zhejiang facility said the decision was made based on business considerations.The number of maternity hospitals in China dropped from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xwzb/webcontroller.do?messagelist=1&amp;titleSeq=11164">807 in 2020</a> to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/s3574/202205/71ecabbcfa8f46ec920f1b7545cf02f0.shtml">793 in 2021</a>, according to the most recent available official data.The closures came as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-birth-rate-problem-wont-go-away-with-financial-incentives-2024-1">China's population</a> — the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-people-dont-care-india-world-most-populous-2023-4">world's second-largest</a> — fell for a second straight year in 2023, a development that's set to have profound implications for the world's second-biggest economy.China has been stepping up <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-reward-cash-bride-25-years-marriage-babies-population-2023-8">measures to encourage marriage, parenthood, and childbearing</a>. They include monetary rewards, subsidies, and even free public transport.But young people aren't particularly keen: Official data shows China's birth rate fell from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202301/t20230117_1892094.html">6.77 births per 1,000 people in 2022</a> to a record low of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202401/t20240117_1946605.html">6.39 births per 1,000 people in 2023</a>.Two Chinese women told Business Insider's Kevin Tan last month that they were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-china-not-having-kids-tell-us-why-2024-2">resistant to having kids</a> because of the cost and commitment involved.

China's birth rate has fallen so much that many hospitals are simply giving up on delivering babies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Pennsylvania has one of the fastest-aging populations in the nation.</li><li>It's a case study of how the US will handle a surge of retirees and fewer younger workers.</li></ul>Maureen, 67, is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-presidential-election-swing-state-polls-sun-belt-2024-10">planning to vote</a> for former President Donald Trump in November because she believes he'll be more beneficial to her finances now that she's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-retirement-of-peak-boomers-could-affect-economy-social-security-2024-4">retired</a>.The northeast Pennsylvania resident, who requested her last name be withheld to protect her privacy, said she approaches each election with an open mind and has previously voted for both Republicans and Democrats. Like many Americans, this time around, Maureen's deciding factor is her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blockbuster-jobs-report-kamala-harris-election-trump-inflation-economy-2024-10">perception of the economy</a>."I'm just looking back over the past eight years, and my 401(k) grew in the four years Trump was in office," Maureen told Business Insider. "Do I like his personality? Heck no, I don't. But my 401(k) went up, interest rates were low, unemployment rates were low."Maureen's view highlights a common theme among American voters, particularly those <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/older-americans-regret-retirement-savings-taking-social-security-early-investments-2024-10">carefully watching their retirement</a> nest egg: they hold whoever is president accountable for how they feel about their finances. Despite the fact that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-election-impact-outlook-harris-trump-energy-tesla-biden-2024-10">stocks</a> have enjoyed significant gains under both Biden and Trump and even though the Federal Reserve — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/interest-rate-cut-trump-fed-powell-reaction-independence-history-2024-9">not the president</a> — dictates benchmark interest rates, Maureen still blames the current administration for her dissatisfaction.Marjorie Klein, 80, lives in Philadelphia and is also retired. Similar to Maureen, she's concerned about financial security for older Americans — but she will be supporting Vice President Kamala Harris."He says that he's going to keep Social Security, but you never know with him," Klein told BI of Trump.Americans like Maureen and Klein may decide the election. A Morning Consult <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/elections/polls-president-pennsylvania.html">poll</a> conducted from October 6 to 15 found Harris leading Trump in the swing state of Pennsylvania by just one point. However, among voters aged 50 and over in Pennsylvania, a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2024/pennsylvania-harris-trump-poll.html">poll</a> from AARP found Trump leading Harris by eight points."We're a pivotal state for this presidency," Bill Johnston-Walsh, state director of AARP Pennsylvania, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2024/pennsylvania-harris-trump-poll.html">said</a>. "Whoever wants it is going to have to go through us."Pennsylvania is a case study for the role the federal government will play in supporting the US's aging population over the next few decades through programs like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-retirement-of-peak-boomers-could-affect-economy-social-security-2024-4">Social Security</a> and Medicare. Pennsylvania voters and economists told BI it's vital that the next presidential administration plan for a future when retirees greatly outnumber younger Americans to ensure the economy and workforce can function effectively. As a swing state, it's critical for their campaigns that Harris and Trump listen to older Pennsylvanians' concerns.<h2 id="af5cee7e-b374-4096-b8b8-8442a2e05213">Social Security and Medicare in the hot seat</h2>Pennsylvania is aging rapidly; it has nearly 2.5 million residents over the age of 65, the fifth-highest total in the country. Nationally, the population of adults over 65 is expected to surge by 20 million between now and 2040.The state's residents rely heavily on federal government income, mainly through Social Security and Medicare, with two rural counties — Fayette and Cambria — among the most reliant in the nation, a report from the bipartisan Economic Innovation Group found.Benjamin Glasner, a coauthor of EIG's <a target="_blank" href="https://eig.org/great-transfermation/">report</a>, told BI that the most reliant counties were generally in older, poor, and more rural communities. Cambria, for example, needed more government aid after steel plant closures in the 1980s. Residents' incomes still haven't recovered."You can only receive so much from Social Security. Medicare can only cover so much, and Medicaid can only cover so much," Glasner said, adding that creates "a thin level of economic prosperity" reliant on the program's generosity."Mike Crossey, 73, has seen the limits of government aid firsthand in his work as an advocate for retirees. The Pittsburgh-area resident wants the next president of the US to strengthen Social Security, protect pensions, and expand Medicare. He said he knows too many older Americans who live off Social Security alone, which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/">averaged</a> $1,921 nationally for retirees in September."I run into people every day who are still making decisions about, 'Do I take my prescriptions today or do I have lunch today?' And that just breaks my heart," Crossey said.While Trump has denied that he would cut Social Security and previously criticized GOP lawmakers who proposed raising the retirement age to 70, the Committee for a Responsible Budget <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/what-would-trump-campaign-plans-mean-social-security">said</a> that Trump's policies could force cuts to Social Security benefits in as little as six years. Harris has proposed strengthening Social Security by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay what they owe in taxes.With the Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees report recently projecting that Social Security will only be able to pay out full benefits <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-will-social-security-benefits-run-out-retirement-crisis-boomers-2024-5">for the next 11 years</a>, the issue is growing more pressing, and not only for Pennsylvanians. Richard Fiesta, the executive director of the nonpartisan 4 million-member Alliance for Retired Americans, said that "Congress and the next administration needs to have a serious look at Social Security."Some retirees are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-savings-401k-pension-real-estate-investments-baby-boomers-2024-6">able to live comfortably</a> amid economic headwinds. However, Fiesta said the decline in defined benefit pension plans, or employer-subsidized retirement plans, contributes to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-crisis-social-security-poverty-older-americans-savings-inequality-2024-3">slump in average retiree savings</a>.This means that more and more Americans rely primarily on Social Security to help keep them financially afloat as they age. The previously mentioned EIG report found that income from government aid is the fastest-growing portion of an American's income, and it is primarily driven by retirees, who make up a rising share of the total US population."And we're just kind of seeing that now over the last 10 to 15 years as that generation ages into retirement," Fiesta said.<h2 id="a2e550dc-625f-4039-8e34-cbb0ecc4d25f">An aging workforce creates job mismatches</h2>The workforce in Pennsylvania is already starting to see imbalances as the younger population dwindles and the number of retirees grows.Kyle Kopko, executive director of the bipartisan legislative agency Center for Rural Pennsylvania, said local business owners complain of labor shortages. CRP research suggests that's due to fewer older adults working traditional jobs and instead pursuing entrepreneurship to supplement their retirement incomes. At the same time, lower birth rates mean younger adults are not filling the open roles either, Kopko said."If you don't have a pool of younger adults in Pennsylvania who can backfill for some of the retirees, that's going to create supply and demand imbalances," Kopko said, referring to the role retirees play in the economy as consumers, but less so as workers.When it comes to the issue of jobs nationwide, Harris proposed tax incentives for small businesses to spur more hiring, while Trump has largely focused on bolstering manufacturing in the US to create more jobs.One possible avenue for job creation — the infrastructure industry — has hardly been mentioned by either candidate in policy discussions. Bill Candelori, a 68-year-old retired commercial painter, sees this as an overlooked opportunity. He says Biden's infrastructure investments, which brought $16 billion to Pennsylvania, was a promising step but wants the next administration to go further."It's not only roads and bridges. It's airports, it's water authorities, it's schools, it's libraries, any public project," Candelori said. "That's work for us. And it's work afterward on maintaining those facilities. It's job creation."<h2 id="485b4799-3267-4ca3-96b7-d90ae5f90405">Political steps being taken</h2>State and local governments have already taken steps to address these mounting issues. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — a Democrat — has worked with members of his administration to create a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/aging/documents/aging-our-way/documents/AOW%20Final%20PDF%20online%20version%20with%20signature.pdf">10-year strategic plan</a> that outlined eight key priorities for older adults, including housing, transportation, and health and community support.Pennsylvania's Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich said it's a bipartisan issue that has bipartisan support: "There is not a representative or senator who I've ever sat down with that does not care about older adults in their district."JR Reed and Krista Geer, both in charge of county-wide aging agencies, have met with older adults in Pennsylvania to hear their top worries. Geer said that one of the biggest concerns she's heard about is the high cost of living, which has interfered with their ability to afford medications, gas, and groceries. Though inflation has moderated in recent months, it's still historically elevated and putting pressure on consumers."Social security just doesn't quite keep pace with that," Geer said. The program adjusts payouts annually to account for inflation. Critics say it isn't tied to a measure that accurately reflects the spending of older Americans.Reed and Geer agree the solution is for older populations to have a bigger nest egg, but not one that comes from Social Security. Reed said that he hopes Trump or Harris will continue to fund a 1965 federal law that provides funding to states to better support older adults.At the federal level, Harris recently proposed a plan that would allow Medicare coverage for in-home eldercare, which Fiesta said would "go a long way" toward helping both older adults and the family members who typically would take care of them.Trump, to date, has offered minimal details about his plans to address eldercare. Brian Hughes — his campaign's senior advisor — told BI that the presidential hopeful and his running mate, JD Vance, "share the principles of using more choice in the marketplace and efficiency as tools for better, more affordable health care."Overall, the stakes for an aging US population are high, and bipartisan participation is required to ensure the country is properly prepared for a surge in retirees.Kavulich said that the shift needs to be addressed head-on."Older adults really drive our economies," Kavulich said. "They drive our communities, and we have to respect that. And we have to not just think of them as frail and old and vulnerable."

A battle over the future of US retirement is playing out in Pennsylvania as the election looms 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>By 2100, 97% of countries are expected to have fertility rates below replacement levels.</li><li>Demography experts told BI that countries offering financial incentives won't solve this.</li></ul>The world is facing a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asia-countries-worry-fertility-rate-affect-armies-few-soldiers-experts-2024-6">fertility rate crisis,</a> and experts warn that giving <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-making-incentives-wont-work-experts-cash-car-subsidies-medals-2024-6">financial incentives to would-be parents</a> isn't going to come close to solving it.<a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext#cestitle300">A Lancet study forecasts</a> that by 2100, over 97% of countries will have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-faces-a-low-fertility-future-hit-global-economy-report-2024-3">fertility rates below the population replacement level</a>.Some countries, fearing shrinking populations, have invested heavily in policies in the hopes of reversing the decline.In Tokyo, the rates are so low that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-government-launching-dating-app-marriage-rates-population-decline-japan-2024-6">government is launching a dating app</a> to help citizens find love and get married.The Japanese government has also tried to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-birthrate-reaches-record-low-billions-spent-2023-6">boost fertility rates</a> by offering up to a year of parental leave and even cash incentives.In South Korea, the <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-fertility-rate-dropped-fresh-record-low-2023-2024-02-28/">least fertile country in the world,</a> Seoul is offering people money to <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-fertility-rate-dropped-fresh-record-low-2023-2024-02-28/">reverse their vasectomies or untie their tubes.</a>That's on top of South Korean companies offering employees up to $75,000 to have children, and a government allowance system that <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-parents-south-korea-seoul-750-per-month-population-declines-2024-2">gives all parents with newborns $750 a month</a> until their baby turns one.However, according to Trent MacNamara, a Texas A&amp;M professor whose work has focused on fertility rates, throwing money at the problem can only do so much."Theoretically, it's possible to produce higher fertility with traditional policy," he told Business Insider. "If a government transferred new parents about 5% of the costs of raising a child, we could expect a roughly 5% bump in fertility."But he noted that such measures come with "backbreaking costs" that governments are hesitant to bear, especially given the strain aging populations place on social welfare systems.MacNamara said that even in countries like South Korea, which has invested billions, the impact of the policies is still inconclusive.While governments are scrambling for solutions, none have discovered the holy grail — an affordable, practical policy leading to sustained fertility rate rises, he said.Sarah Harper, a professor of gerontology and the director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, says that cash incentives have a limited long-term effect."It encourages a mini-baby boom, followed by a baby crash, as those women who would have spread their childbearing across several years all go at the same time to get the cash bonus," she told BI.Harper said that instead of throwing money at the issue, the biggest chance for success is through promoting gender equity.She said that countries that promote "positive parenting, ensuring that mothers, as well as fathers, can continue their careers through acceptance in the workplace," have the best chance of maintaining birth rates.However, she added that even this is unlikely to return levels to above-replacement.Philip N. Cohen, a family demographer at the University of Maryland, said it's a "fool's errand" trying to solve the fertility crisis.He said that most policy ideas have failed, and besides, "human history in the period of modernity, the last few hundred years, is the history of declining birth rates."A few unique, ambitious policy ideas could, in theory, make an impact — like a social welfare fund for single mothers and mass immigration from poorer countries—but, Cohen said, they're unlikely to be implemented in most countries."That's politically fraught, even if the math of it makes perfect sense," he said.As for the overall trend, "there's no way I think we can turn that around," he said.

Throwing money at plunging birth rates won't solve the issue, demography experts say

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chipmaker GlobalFoundries began offering student loan debt relief to eligible employees this summer.</li><li>The benefit is aimed at helping the company attract and retain workers.</li></ul>When Morgan earned her bachelor's degree in 2018, she graduated with over $20,000 in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-forgiveness-blocked-biden-debt-cancellation-education-department-relief-2024-10">student loan debt</a> that she hoped to pay off by 2032.While she's kept up with her payments — which amount to a few hundred dollars each month — they've made it harder for her and her significant other to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mortgages/tips-for-saving-for-a-down-payment">save for a home</a> and their future family, the 28-year-old told Business Insider. And she's not alone: More than <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/student-loan-debt-statistics/?tpt=a">40 million Americans</a> collectively held over $1 trillion in federal student debt last year.However, Morgan's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/student-loans/how-to-pay-off-student-loan-debt-fast">student loan</a> repayment journey has become a little easier over the past year.In May, her employer <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gfs-stock">GlobalFoundries</a> launched a new student loan repayment program that provides qualifying US-based employees up to $28,500 in student debt relief. Morgan is a training coordinator at the New York-based manufacturer of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/semiconductor-chips-jobs-hiring-arizona-tech-phoenix-tsmc-intel-china-2024-1">semiconductor chips</a>, where she develops and implements technical training for the companies' technicians and engineers.Since the launch, a company spokesperson told BI that 237 employees have enrolled and that it's disbursed more than $100,000 in repayment funds. The relief program is helping repay student loans for degrees ranging from associate's to doctorates at more than 80 US colleges and universities.Morgan now expects to fully pay off her remaining $16,000 student debt balance by 2028 — four years earlier than planned."Paying off my student loans at a much faster rate will allow me to save that additional income to invest in our future, our home, and the growth of our family," said Morgan, who asked to be identified by her first name for privacy reasons. "This program is helping me to achieve financial freedom."<div type="image" title="Morgan" height="968" width="1290" msid="114374429" hostid="261" sizebytes="155266"></div>GlobalFoundries is betting that student debt relief will help it attract prospective employees and retain current workers. The company spokesperson told BI that the initial results have been promising."We are pleased to see enrollment numbers continue to increase, coupled with positive employee feedback," the spokesperson said. "This demonstrates the program is making a meaningful impact on the financial well-being of our employees."The company's debt relief program is part of a broader effort by semiconductor companies to grow their workforces as the US pushes for more domestic production of chips that power everything from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-chip-shortage-supply-constraints-2021-7">iPhones</a> to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chip-shortage-auto-industry-car-buying-dealerships-consumers-inventory-2022-12">cars</a> to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-ai-chip-semiconductors-tsmc-intel-jobs-arizona-2024-2">AI tools</a> like ChatGPT.In 2022, President Joe Biden signed the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chips-act-bill-to-boost-us-chipmaking-competition-with-china-2022-7"> CHIPS and Science Act</a> into law, which included $52.7 billion in tax breaks and subsidies intended to bolster the US semiconductor industry. However, some industry leaders have raised concerns that there won't be enough <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/semiconductor-certification-program-chipmaker-manufacturing-jobs-new-career-intel-tsmc-2023-8">skilled workers</a> to fill the jobs that will eventually be created.According to a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.semiconductors.org/america-faces-significant-shortage-of-tech-workers-in-semiconductor-industry-and-throughout-u-s-economy/"> report</a> published last year by the trade and lobbying group Semiconductor Industry Association and Oxford Economics, the US semiconductor industry faces a worker shortage of 67,000 people by 2030, including technicians, computer scientists, and engineers."It's not just about attracting talent; it's about retaining talent and ensuring our team feels supported and ready to lead in such a crucial industry," Pradheepa Raman, chief people officer at GlobalFoundries, told BI.To be sure, it's unclear if programs like GlobalFoundries will successfully address the company's workforce needs in the coming years. However, other companies in the semiconductor industry, like <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=73de951b92747ea5bef57a78e50672904ae9aa73440c55d26deb3a0e4fdc24dc&amp;postID=67000ba80c43543ec7a9c940&amp;postSlug=student-loan-debt-relief-globalfoundries-semiconductor-chip-workforce-shortage-2024-10&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nvidia.com%2Fen-us%2Fbenefits%2Fmoney%2F529-college-savings-plans%2F">Nvidia</a>, have implemented student loan reimbursement programs. <h2 id="80d0f88b-f671-41e5-a9f5-6e2de733e674">Hiring challenges have forced the company to get creative</h2>In February, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/globalfoundries-and-biden-harris-administration-announce-chips-and-science-act-funding-for-essential-chip-manufacturing-1033079603">$1.5 billion</a> of the CHIPS Act funding was allocated to GlobalFoundries to expand production at the company's Malta, New York chip factory and build a new factory. Additionally, the Biden administration promised another $1.6 billion in federal loans. This is expected to triple GlobalFoundries' production capacity in New York over 10 years and create roughly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2024/02/biden-harris-administration-announces-preliminary-terms-globalfoundries">1,500</a> manufacturing jobs.However, filling roles like these can be challenging. Raman said GlobalFoundries has faced the same hiring challenges that are impacting the broader US semiconductor industry, which sometimes leads to longer recruitment periods for certain roles.These hiring challenges are among the reasons the company has established partnerships with <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/globalfoundries-partners-with-micron-and-u-s-national-science-foundation-to-drive-semiconductor-workforce-development-at-minority-serving-institutions-1033407247">universities</a>, community colleges, and STEM programs, in addition to starting an internal apprenticeship <a target="_blank" href="https://gf.com/careers/gf-maintenance-technician-apprenticeship-malta/">program</a> in 2021 — the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2024/02/biden-harris-administration-announces-preliminary-terms-globalfoundries">first</a> of its kind in the semiconductor industry."The demand for skilled workers in technology is outpacing supply, which is why we've been so proactive in our approach to workforce development," Raman said.The company's student debt relief program is just another way it's trying to attract workers.To be sure, debt relief isn't provided all at once. Through a partnership with the education platform EdAssist by Bright Horizons, GlobalFoundries sends a monthly payment directly to an employee's loan provider for up to 10 years.Both current workers and new hires are eligible to apply for the relief program, which the company expects to be an ongoing benefit offered to employees. To continue receiving the relief, an employee must make their minimum student debt payment, have a loan in good standing, and remain employed by GlobalFoundries."GlobalFoundries' contribution applies uniformly to all employees and increases over time with an initial investment of more than $100 a month during the first four years and up to $28,500 over the lifetime of the program," the company spokesperson said.In addition to debt relief, GlobalFoundries also offers a childcare subsidy and paid parental leave — 20 weeks for the birth parent and 12 weeks for the non-birth parent.These perks are helping employees like Stephanie, a marketing specialist based in Austin.After Stephanie earned an MBA in 2015, she said she had about $50,000 in student loan debt — her current balance is about $39,000. She said she signed up for GlobalFoundries' relief program on "day one" and received her first payment less than a month later, the 33-year-old told BI. She asked to be identified by her first name for privacy reasons.<div type="image" title="Stephanie" height="1737" width="2316" msid="114374433" hostid="261" sizebytes="455640"></div>The relief has been a "game changer," Stephanie said. If she stays at her job, she estimates GlobalFoundries will contribute thousands. She said she was only eligible for five years of relief because, under her repayment plan, her loans are supposed to be paid off within that timeframe.Before Stephanie enrolled in the program, she said she was on track to pay off her student debt by 2028. She now expects to pay it off at least one year ahead of schedule."It's made a real difference in reducing my principal and has given me more flexibility for my future instead of feeling constantly tied down by student loans."Do you work in the semiconductor chip industry and have a story to tell? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:jzinkula@businessinsider.com">jzinkula@businessinsider.com</a>.

One chip company's newest tactic to attract workers: Help pay off their student loans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China has no choice but to keep <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-raises-retirement-age-aging-population-shrinking-workforce-2024-9#:~:text=The%20new%20retirement%20age%20will,for%20longer%20before%20receiving%20benefits.">raising the retirement age</a> for workers, according to Yi Fuxian.</li><li>The nation has a demographic crisis, which is straining the pension system, the researcher said.</li></ul>China has a retirement crisis on its hands, and the nation will probably be forced to keep raising the retirement age for workers to stave off demographic imbalances, according to a demographer.Yi Fuxian, a researcher whose book on China's demographic problems was previously <a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/LVeOnmJ1gV">banned</a> in the country, cast a dark outlook for the nation's demographic future, with its population aging and its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-aging-population-demographics-america-finance-markets-beijing-xi-2023-8">workforce rapidly shrinking</a>. Those trends led China to recently raise the mandatory retirement age for workers, the first time the nation has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-raises-retirement-age-aging-population-shrinking-workforce-2024-9#:~:text=The%20new%20retirement%20age%20will,for%20longer%20before%20receiving%20benefits.">raised its retirement age</a> in decades.But those measures are "long-overdue" and merely "kicking a political time bomb down the road." They also probably aren't enough to alleviate pressure on the retirement system in the world's second-largest economy, Fuxian wrote in an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-not-doing-enough-to-address-rapid-demographic-aging-by-yi-fuxian-2024-10">op-ed</a> for Project Syndicate on Wednesday."Given the severity of its demographic crisis, China will need to keep raising its retirement age, potentially fueling civil unrest and political instability," Yi said. "As the workforce ages and shrinks, economic growth will slow and reduce government revenues, while the growing elderly population will drive up pension costs," he later added.Economists have flagged worrying <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-birth-rate-problem-wont-go-away-with-financial-incentives-2024-1">demographic trends</a> in China for years. China's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SPDYNTFRTINCHN">fertility rate</a> dropped to 1.17 births per woman in 2022, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0037712">World Bank</a> data. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=CN">life expectancy</a> has climbed, with the average person in China living to 79.The number of people over the age of 60 in China has soared the last 40 years, increasing from 72 million in 1980 to 297 million in 2023, according to the latest <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202410/12/content_WS6709cb9ac6d0868f4e8ebbda.html">report</a> from the nation's Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Committee on Ageing.By 2050, the population of people 60 and older is expected to increase to 475 million, or nearly half of China's total population, Yi said, citing <a target="_blank" href="https://population.un.org/wpp/Graphs/DemographicProfiles/Line/156">estimates</a> from the United Nations.There are already signs China's aging population and simultaneously shrinking workforce is starting to strain its benefits system for retirees. China's main <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/why-are-there-concerns-about-chinas-pension-system-its-population-ages-2024-01-18/">pension fund could be depleted by 2035</a>, according to a 2019 estimate from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Meanwhile, around a third of Chinese provinces are struggling with pension deficits, Reuters reported."With too few workers to support the system, no amount of political maneuvering or creative accounting can avert the impending pension crisis," Yi said.The situation mirrors some aspects of the retirement crisis in the US, with a growing number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/12/14/older-workers-are-growing-in-number-and-earning-higher-wages/">older Americans continuing to work</a> amid concerns about financial security. Over 30 million US baby boomers are <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-retirement-of-peak-boomers-could-affect-economy-social-security-2024-4#:~:text=Over%2030%20million%20%22peak%20boomers,Social%20Security%20to%20stay%20afloat.">nearing retirement without enough</a> saved, and <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-crisis-social-security-poverty-older-americans-savings-inequality-2024-3">over half of Americans over the age of 65 make less than $30,000</a> a year, according to 2022 Census data.

China's retirement crisis is here, and Beijing will be forced to keep raising the retirement age, demographer says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China is one of the world's most unaffordable places to raise a child, a Beijing think tank says.</li><li>The cost of raising a child compared to GDP per capita is 6.3 times in China, but 4.11 in the US, it said.</li></ul>China is one of the most unaffordable places in the world to raise a child, ranking higher than the US, Japan, and the UK, per a new report from a Beijing think tank.Raising a child to 18 years of age costs Chinese families an average of 6.3 times China's GDP per capita, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yuwa.org.cn/article/list?id=2">Yuwa Population Research's "China Childbirth Cost Report 2024," released on Wednesday.</a> That's compared to a factor of 4.11 in the US.The report comes amid rising concerns about a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-population-shrinking-first-time-60-years-2023-1">declining birth rate in China</a>, which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-china-population-falling-economy-deflation-evergrande-xi-jinping-2024-1">fueled its growth</a> with a booming population for decades."The fundamental reason why China has almost the lowest fertility rate in the world is that it has almost the highest fertility cost in the world," researchers Liang Jianzhang, Huang Wenzheng, and He Yafu wrote in Yuwa's report.The think tank said it calculated child-raising costs in China using 2023 data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Its rating for the US was derived from the Department of Agriculture's latest report on parent spending, "2015 Expenditures on Children by Families."<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korean-millennial-income-housing-ambitions-jobs-2023-3">South Korea</a> is the only country that's less affordable for child-rearing than China, Yuwa's report found. There, it costs 7.79 times the GDP per capita to raise a child to age 18. The report used data from Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare released in 2013.Using official statistics and research reports, the think tank said it costs UK families an average of 5.25 times the local GDP per capita to raise a child to 18, while in Japan, that ratio is 4.26.Yuwa broke down the cost of raising children in China through recurring expenses such as education, childcare fees, food, clothing, medical care, and entertainment, as well as short-term expenditures like pregnancy costs and hospital care for mothers and newborns.In total, raising a child until they are 18 costs Chinese families an average of 538,312 yuan, or about $73,000, Yuwa said. Urban families, on average, spend 666,699 yuan, or about $93,000, while rural families spend 364,868 yuan, or about $51,000.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-food-scandal-middle-class-buy-direct-farms-2021-12">Chinese middle-class families</a> in the 40th to 60th percentile income bracket spend around 446,582 yuan per child, or $62,082.Still, raising a child in the US costs far more without considering income disparities. Middle-income families in the US are projected to spend $233,610 raising a child until they are 18, per the USDA. A <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-kids-cost-raising-child-inflation-childcare-tax-exemptions-2024-1">Business Insider report from January</a> put the estimate of raising a child significantly higher, at an average of $462,852.<h2>What makes it difficult to raise a child in China?</h2>Lower birth rates could be driving up China's per-child costs. Yuwa noted a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/01/13/cost-raising-child#:~:text=For%20married%2Dcouple%20families%20with,cheaper%20by%20the%20dozen%E2%80%9D%20effect.">report from the USDA </a>that found married couples with one child spend about 27% more on per-child expenses than couples with two children."That is, with each additional child, expenses on each declines," the USDA report said. For example, families can reuse toys and crawling mats for multiple children.China's birth rate is about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64300190">half the national birth rate in the US </a>and is falling. Urban families there typically only raise one or two children, even after its one- and two-child policies were removed.Housing is another major cost factor, with major urban hubs seeing much lower fertility rates, the report said. Shanghai and Beijing are China's most expensive cities to raise children in, costing 1,010,130 yuan and 936,375 yuan respectively, per child, or $140,000 and $130,000, per Yuwa.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-china-not-having-kids-tell-us-why-2024-2">Chinese women are also disproportionally affected</a> when they raise children, the researchers said."Research shows that raising children leads to a reduction in women's paid work hours, mostly before the child is 4 years old," their report said. "But Chinese men's paid work hours do not change significantly after becoming fathers."Having a child also leads to a 12% to 17% decline in women's wage rates in China, the researchers said.Yuwa projected that China could nearly double its birth rate by providing cash and housing subsidies, building childcare facilities, revamping the education system to include fewer exams, and reforming workplace practices for parents.Notably, the average cost of raising a child in China fell slightly compared to <a target="_blank" href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/J2AcC1z32a4gjuQWqZiKdw">Yuwa's 2022 report</a> on the same topic. The think tank said data from 2019 showed that the average cost was $76,000, or about seven times the country's GDP per capita at the time.

China has a birth-rate problem. It's also the 2nd-least affordable country in the world to raise a child, says a Beijing think tank.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Spain is looking to immigrants to help boost its economy.</li><li>Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said migration is crucial for the country's prosperity.</li></ul>Spain is looking to immigrants to help boost its economy and fill gaps in its workforce.Speaking to parliament on Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqbRYeyo4cs">Pedro Sánchez</a> promoted migration as a means of fueling prosperity in the country, arguing that it offered an effective way of tackling what he called a "demographic challenge."Spain's economy and labor market face significant challenges from an aging population and low birth rate.Eurostat data put Spain's birth rate at 1.16 births per woman in 2022, the second-lowest in the EU, while the Spanish central bank has said that population aging is "one of the greatest structural challenges facing the Spanish economy."Sánchez said that migration may offer the answer to those problems, saying it had historically been one of "the great drivers of the development of nations.""Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed, poor country," he added.Sánchez also used his speech to dispel certain myths and "disinformation" about immigrants, saying that "hatred and xenophobia have been — and are — the greatest destroyer of nations.""The reality, ladies and gentlemen, is that foreigners are neither better nor worse than us. They are equal. They are people with their virtues, their defects, their dreams, and their fears," he said.It comes as other EU members have sought to clamp down on immigration.Germany has tightened border controls to tackle irregular migration, while <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.government.se/government-policy/swedens-new-migration-policy/">Sweden</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/17/doctors-criticise-finlands-proposal-to-withhold-healthcare-for-migrants">Finland</a> have both announced anti-immigration plans.In the US, the run-up to the presidential election has also seen immigration come under the spotlight.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mass-deportation-immigraiton-plan-federal-reserve-inflation-2024-9">Former President Donald Trump</a> has drawn particular attention to the issue, often using inflammatory rhetoric to describe immigrants.Trump has also vowed to enact the "largest domestic deportation in American history" should he be elected in November.

Spain is betting on immigrants to boost its economy 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indianapolis has the highest birth rate among major US cities, per SmartAsset analysis.</li><li>It used US Census data from 2021-2022 to compare birth rates in 37 large cities.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-to-indiana-from-los-angeles-cheaper-housing-outdoors-tech-2023-7">Indianapolis</a> is the US city with the highest birth rate, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://smartasset.com/data-studies/where-people-have-more-children-2024">new analysis by the financial technology company SmartAsset.</a>SmartAsset analyzed the most recently available US Census data for 37 of the largest US cities to determine where birth rates and family sizes are the highest and lowest.It looked at the number of women aged 15 to 50 who had a baby in the 12 months between 2021 and 2022, comparing this with the total number of women in that age bracket.Indianapolis topped the list, with Seattle ranked lowest.The data suggested that 6.5% of Indianapolis women aged 15 to 50 had a child in 2022, leading to 14,482 births. In Seattle, it was just 2.6%.The study also found that birth rates in major cities were lower than the national average.Birth rates are a crucial indicator of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/city-metro-population-growth-from-2022-to-2023-florida-2024-3">population growth</a>."What's happening in the US is we have more people dying than birth in some of these metropolitan areas," Emilio A. Parrado, the director of the University of Pennsylvania's Population Studies Center, told BI.Parrado emphasized that high birth rates in Indianapolis could have significant policy and urban planning implications.These include preventing school closures, increasing demand for childcare, and "producing children that are going to maintain Indianapolis if they don't leave," he said.Parrado said there was insufficient data in the analysis to directly attribute the higher birth rates to a particular cause, but factors such as domestic and international migration, as well as a high proportion of women of prime childbearing age, likely contribute.Parrado also told BI that the study's limitation in not controlling for age makes it challenging to distinguish between the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/throwing-money-schemes-wont-solve-global-fertility-crisis-demography-experts-2024-6#:~:text=By%202100%2C%2097%25%20of%20countries,reverse%20population%20decline%2C%20they%20said.">fertility rate</a> and the population's age composition, and that a more precise measure would be the total fertility rate, which estimates the number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime.According to the most recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.in.gov/health/reports/natality/2017/tbl31_t.htm&amp;source=gmail-imap&amp;ust=1720021046000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3z7xKjx1fYI_KQo1Ar5u-0">Indiana natality report, from 2017</a>, Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, had a total fertility rate of 1.933, higher than the overall <a target="_blank" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/04/27/us-birth-rate-falls-to-record-low-amid-global-decline/">US rate of 1.62.</a>Many demographers and governments are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asia-countries-worry-fertility-rate-affect-armies-few-soldiers-experts-2024-6">concerned about declining fertility rates </a>in the US and elsewhere.Dudley L. Poston Jr., an emeritus professor of sociology at Texas A&amp;M University, told BI that various factors influence fertility levels, including ethnicity, education, poverty status, employment outside the home, and whether women live in urban or rural areas.Various countries around the world are experimenting with solutions to try to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/throwing-money-schemes-wont-solve-global-fertility-crisis-demography-experts-2024-6">address low birth rates</a>, including everything from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-making-incentives-wont-work-experts-cash-car-subsidies-medals-2024-6">unusual economic incentives</a> to changing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-population-decline-worker-shortage-labor-birth-rates-immigration-economy-2023-5">immigration policies</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-making-incentives-wont-work-experts-cash-car-subsidies-medals-2024-6">.</a>

Indianapolis is the US city with the highest birth rate, study finds, which could have an impact on its future

<ul class="summary-list"><li>South Korea has a fertility crisis, with the capital Seoul particularly hard-hit.</li><li>The city is proposing $730 incentives for reversing vasectomies and tubal ligations.</li></ul>Last year, South Korea's capital earned an unwelcome distinction: <a target="_blank" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Society/Singapore-and-South-Korea-fertility-rates-fall-to-record-lows">the least fertile city</a> in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-fertility-rate-dropped-fresh-record-low-2023-2024-02-28/">least fertile country in the world.</a>Now Seoul is seeking solutions, including offering up to $730 each to 100 people to reverse their vasectomies or untie their tubes.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/30/seoul-cash-vasectomy-tubes-reversal/?utm_source=flipboard&amp;utm_content=topic%2Fworld">According to The Washington Post,</a> Seoul's government allocated $73,000 in a proposed budget to cover the costs related to the reversals.The outlet reported that most of the cost is to cover medication and hospital stays, seeing as the cost of the procedure itself is already covered by South Korea's national health insurance.According to the Post, the proposed budget also includes about $5.9 million for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/hidden-costs-pregnancy-giving-birth-saving-money-2022-8">medical care for pregnant patients</a> over 35 and an additional $1.6 million for public wedding venues.The provision is aimed at easing the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/unexpected-costs-of-raising-family-prepare-your-budget-2024-2">financial burden of starting a family</a>, the Post said.Without considering immigration, countries need a <a target="_blank" href="https://data.oecd.org/pop/fertility-rates.htm">fertility rate of about 2.1</a> to maintain a stable population. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-faces-a-low-fertility-future-hit-global-economy-report-2024-3">Fertility rates</a> represent the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime.The global average is about 2.2, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/lancet-dramatic-declines-global-fertility-rates-set-transform">according to The Lancet.</a>In South Korea, however, the national fertility rate was 0.72 in 2023. It's even lower in Seoul, where <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-fertility-rate-dropped-fresh-record-low-2023-2024-02-28/#:~:text=South%20Korea%20has%20previously%20projected,rate%20of%200.55%20last%20year.">it hit 0.55</a> last year.On its current trajectory, South Korea's population of 51 million is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68402139#:~:text=Figures%20released%20on%20Wednesday%20show,halve%20by%20the%20year%202100.">on track to halve by 2100.</a>The fertility crisis has been blamed on factors including the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korean-millennial-income-housing-ambitions-jobs-2023-3#with-falling-marriage-rates-also-comes-a-sinking-birth-rate-and-young-koreans-no-longer-think-its-essential-to-have-children-9"> rising cost of living and raising a child</a>.The South Korean government has invested billions to encourage couples to have more children, including financial incentives.These have included subsidies for women to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/froze-my-eggs-cost-risks-worth-it-2023-11">freeze their eggs, </a>bonuses to companies that offer pro-childcare policies, and an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-parents-south-korea-seoul-750-per-month-population-declines-2024-2">allowance system that gives all parents with newborns $750 a month</a> until their baby turns one.Companies are also trying to help. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-korean-firms-offering-bonus-workers-to-have-kids-2024-2">Business Insider's Matthew Loh</a> reported on how two South Korean firms offer employees up to $75,000 to have children.The incentivization to reverse tubal ligation or vasectomies isn't a first in the country, where other local governments are also taking action to address ailing birth rates.Other cities, including Gimcheon, about 125 miles southeast of Seoul, and Gunpo, 15 miles south of the capital, have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231220000834">offered similar subsidies in recent years.</a>

South Korean men can get $730 to reverse their vasectomies, an extreme attempt to increase the birth rate

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Critics of guaranteed basic income often suggest that cash payments discourage work.</li><li>Experts say basic income can help participants afford job training and land higher-paying roles.</li></ul>Taniquewa Brewster is training to be a doula. The mom of five knows both how joyful and overwhelming a baby can be, and she wants to improve birth outcomes for pregnant Texans.While earning her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-am-a-doula-this-is-what-i-do-2022-1">doula</a> certificate, Brewster is working full-time as an assistant property manager at an income-based housing unit. The 39-year-old said she earned the position after being promoted from her role as a leasing agent, a change she said was only possible because of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-pros-and-cons">guaranteed basic income.</a>She had previously been patching together <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-make-money-gig-worker-uber-lyft-doordash-delivery-driver-2023-12">low-paying part-time work</a> to get by."I was working as hard as I could, working overtime," Brewster said. "That's keeping me away from my family. That's keeping me away from things that I can be doing — even going back to school — because I have to work so hard to just cover rent."From September 2022 to August 2023, she received $1,000 monthly through <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/austin-basic-income-gbi-ubi-housing-homeless-parenting-rent-texas-2024-2">Austin's UpTogether pilot</a>. The cash payments gave her breathing room: she said the money helped her afford household bills, along with the real estate and doula training she needed to land higher paying jobs.Guaranteed basic income programs are gaining momentum across the US as an approach to poverty reduction. The model offers participants recurring <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi">cash payments</a> for a set period of time, with no strings attached. Like in Austin's pilot, many programs are directed at households that live near the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-line-leaves-behind-low-income-americans-snap-medicare-wic-2024-6#:~:text=The%20current%20federal%20poverty%20line,up%2C%20it%20is%20too%20low.">federal poverty line</a>.Despite GBI's growing popularity with some policymakers and economic security experts, it continues to face opposition. Business Insider has covered basic income bans, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-program-lawsuit-houston-texas-ubi-gbi-ken-paxton-2024-9">lawsuits over GBI funding</a>, and criticism that giving people cash <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-dave-ramsey-show-karl-marx-playbook-2024-7">discourages participants from working</a> — one of the most common critiques.Some experts, however, have a different view: Financial support frequently offers participants a leg-up in their careers. This is in line with results from most of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-states-cities-have-guaranteed-basic-income-programs-low-income-2024-4">America's GBI pilots.</a>Since the Austin program ended and Brewster started her new role, she estimates her monthly income has increased by over $3,000. She said her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/immigrants-new-mexico-basic-income-for-housing-healthcare-ubi-gbi2024-5">job stability</a> helped her afford essentials like groceries and healthcare, and allowed her to spend more time with her children."I know it's great to have that talent and to know how to do things," she said. "But when you have that certification behind it, it just helps you to move up in the company or in whatever you do."<h2 id="0c19f308-5bbe-47f6-a561-6c5d8e61a435">Basic income critics say cash discourages work</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-ray-dalio-cash-payments-harm-poverty-2024-7">Billionaires</a>, politicians, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-dave-ramsey-show-karl-marx-playbook-2024-7">financial leaders</a> have criticized basic income programs, saying that cash payments could encourage laziness among participants. Others add that having an extra monthly income could <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-17/south-dakota-texas-block-local-universal-basic-income-laws">dissuade people from having a job</a>."Do we just get born and get money from the government?" Arizona State Rep. John Gillette previously told BI. "I think the Founding Fathers would say that is very contrary to our capitalist system and encouraging people to work."Sometimes results do show that participants work fewer hours or drop multiple jobs during their GBI program. For example, in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-basic-income-study-results-2024-7">Illinois and Texas' OpenResearch study</a> — which examined the effects of two GBI programs that were funded by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI — employment rates fell in the second and third years among the participants compared with the control group. The pilot gave 3,000 low-income families $1,000 a month for three years, beginning in 2019.When conducting guaranteed basic income pilots, researchers typically gather data on participant spending, housing outcomes, food access, mental health, job security, and weekly working hours. This data is gathered throughout a program's run and after its conclusion via participant surveys and is often compared to a control group of people not receiving cash payments.Sukhi Samra — the executive director of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a national advocacy network — told BI that measuring employment trends can be challenging because it doesn't capture the individualized benefits of GBI.It may look like participants are working fewer hours or fewer jobs, but often, Samra said those roles are more stable and higher-paying. Although job numbers declined in the OpenResearch case, the average participant income increased, researchers found. The study speculated the income boost could be due to participants having more flexibility over their employment choices."Sometimes being able to work less does have profound impacts for families," Samra said. "Especially when you're talking about parents being able to spend more time with their children, being able to obtain a professional license or degree, or take care of an elderly parent."More than a dozen guaranteed income pilots overseen by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, like in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stockton-basic-income-experiment-success-employment-wellbeing-2021-3#:~:text=In%20Stockton%2C%20California%2C%20125%20residents,launch%20more%20basic%2Dincome%20pilots.">Stockton</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baltimore-basic-income-parents-afford-housing-get-jobs-ubi-gbi-2024-7#:~:text=Baltimore%20gave%20low%2Dincome%20parents,some%20lawmakers%20are%20fighting%20them.">Baltimore</a>, showed an overall increase in employment among participants. Other pilots, like one in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/denver-basic-income-project-ubi-extended-homelessness-poverty-2024-1">Denver</a>, showed no statistically significant impact on employment rates. Few programs show negative job outcomes.BI has heard anecdotally from participants that cash payments helped them <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=66ab7d4d6550c8ac4ef862cd">pay for the childcare</a> they needed to be focused at work, leading to promotions. Others said $500 or $1,000 a month was the boost they needed to drop several lower-paying gigs in favor of one <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alabama-basic-income-single-mothers-afford-childcare-bills-birmingham-2024-8">higher-paying full-time job</a>, or reduce their working hours so they could pursue higher education or job training. Some leave their jobs to start <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-basic-income-study-results-starting-a-business-2024-7#:~:text=OpenResearch's%20study%20gave%20monthly%20stipends,essentials%20and%20considered%20starting%20businesses.">their own small businesses</a>."The benefits of that sort of compound over time, and aren't really captured in the nuances of the data," Samra said.Still, guaranteed basic income programs reflect short-term results. There is limited research on participant job outcomes in the months and years after their payments end. Participant employment — or unemployment — might also be impacted by outside factors, like the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-picks-up-in-fall-low-openings-hurting-job-seekers-2024-9">changing labor market</a>, a person's family situation, or shifts to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-cost-of-living-what-is-middle-class-housing-market-2024-4">local cost of living</a>. Most GBI participants need to continue working to make ends meet.<h2 id="7292fcde-172d-457c-9073-cb15b2dc5747">Participants say basic income helped them afford job training, land higher-paying roles</h2>Cepia Harper, 41, just began her second year as a middle school English teacher. Her favorite lesson to teach is essay writing, helping students learn how to craft the perfect thesis statement.Harper began teaching shortly after enrolling in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-basic-income-afford-rent-daycare-single-mom-ubi-gbi-2024-6">Georgia-based guaranteed basic income program</a>, In Her Hands. The program offered 650 participants — who were all low-income Black women — $20,400 over two years, ending in spring 2024.Along with helping cover <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-orleans-guaranteed-basic-income-supports-opportunity-youth-school-work-2024-9">household bills and unexpected expenses</a>, Harper said the money allowed her to get her education credentials. She had previously been cobbling together a couple of retail jobs to make ends meet."I've never had it where I could just go home to my own kids, pick them up from practice," she said. "They all play sports, and I could never leave work to go to a game."More predictable hours means Harper can spend more time with her family. Her annual income has risen by about $13,000 since she began teaching, she said, so she no longer has to work multiple jobs.And, as participants use their cash payments to build careers, Asya Howlette said they are more likely to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-orleans-guaranteed-basic-income-supports-opportunity-youth-school-work-2024-9">boost local economies</a>. As the director of the New Orleans Mayor's Office of Youth and Families, Howlette has noticed the trend in her own city, where she helped oversee a recent GBI program focused on teenagers and young adults disconnected from work and school."It's improving our economy because all of the money that these young people were using is going right back into our economy," she previously told BI. "It's not like they're sitting on a lot of cash, they're spending it right back in our grocery stores, they're putting it right back in our small businesses."While GBI isn't meant to serve as a paycheck replacement, Samra said can be a financial safety net: "We are allowing folks to stabilize and to then plan for the future," she added.Being able to afford training for more lucrative jobs in real estate and maternal care gave Brewster — the mother of five — financial confidence."It really motivated me," she said of her GBI program. "Because I knew that, once the money stopped, what would I do afterward?"Have you participated in a guaranteed basic income program? Are you open to sharing your experience? If so, reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto:allisonkelly@businessinsider.com">allisonkelly@businessinsider.com</a>.

You Searched For "birth rate" and got 12 results

A Russian politician says the country needs a 'special demographic operation' to boost its birth rate, which has crashed to a 25-year-low

Huileng Tan

Asia's governments think people not having sex or dating may be tanking their birth rates. That's not the full picture.

Kwan Wei Kevin Tan

China's birth rate has fallen so much that many hospitals are simply giving up on delivering babies

Huileng Tan

A battle over the future of US retirement is playing out in Pennsylvania as the election looms

Ayelet Sheffey

Throwing money at plunging birth rates won't solve the issue, demography experts say

Joshua Zitser

One chip company's newest tactic to attract workers: Help pay off their student loans

Jacob Zinkula

China's retirement crisis is here, and Beijing will be forced to keep raising the retirement age, demographer says

Jennifer Sor

China has a birth-rate problem. It's also the 2nd-least affordable country in the world to raise a child, says a Beijing think tank.

Matthew Loh

Spain is betting on immigrants to boost its economy

Rebecca Rommen,Nathan Rennolds

Indianapolis is the US city with the highest birth rate, study finds, which could have an impact on its future

Joshua Zitser

South Korean men can get $730 to reverse their vasectomies, an extreme attempt to increase the birth rate

Joshua Zitser

The basic income myth: cash discourages work

Allie Kelly

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