Is it useful?, The government provides money to encourage childbirth
Recently, various regions have started to encourage investment in marriage and childbirth: Changshan County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province announced a subsidy of 30000 yuan for families who have successfully assisted in childbirth, and rewarded first married couples aged 25 and below with 1000 yuan; Zhengzhou City, Henan Province announced that starting from September 1st, a one-time childcare subsidy of 2000 yuan, 5000 yuan, and 15000 yuan will be provided to families with one, two, three, and more newborns entering Zhengzhou City; In Longgang City, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, giving birth to three children until the age of three can receive a total of 46000 yuan in maternity and parenting subsidies.
The high cost of childbirth is certainly an important factor that many young people do not consider marriage and childbirth, but whether these subsidies can effectively stimulate young people's willingness to have children depends on their opinions.
According to the Yuwa Population Research Report, the average cost of raising a child in Chinese households in 2020 was 485000 yuan until the age of 18, and the average cost of raising a child from the age of 0 to a bachelor's degree was 627000 yuan. Taking 485000 yuan as an example, this cost is a multiple of per capita GDP, second only to South Korea and ranking second in the world. According to the 2021 online survey on the cost of raising children conducted by China Economic Times, 80% of respondents believe that the economic cost of raising children is too high. Compared to the current subsidy policies in various regions, the cash subsidies provided by local governments are a drop in the bucket compared to the actual cost of raising a child.
Moreover, once a child is born, they need to spend a lot of time and energy accompanying their growth during their upbringing. Once they enter the learning stage, they need to worry about their development in the fierce competition. In big cities, families who decide to raise their children ultimately hope for "eugenics and nurturing" to provide a better environment for their children's growth. But the government's consideration in these aspects is relatively limited. For example, for families with multiple children, improving housing is a very realistic demand. However, in current policies, the majority of cities in China do not distinguish between "having children, not having children, and having multiple children" in their purchase restriction policies. Setting aside the need for large expenses to replace larger housing with multiple children, there is no reduction in transaction taxes for buying and selling houses.
In addition, although there is a consensus in social beliefs that raising children is a shared responsibility of spouses and even families, in reality, parenting responsibilities are more concentrated among women, and the "low participation" of men in raising children has also led some women to consider using "not having children" or "having fewer children" to maintain their work pace and quality of life.
Therefore, although the marriage and childbirth subsidy policies in various regions are a positive attempt, the government still needs to fully consider the reasons why young people resist marriage and childbirth from their perspective.