The Low Fertility and Response of Family Policy in Germany

Jing Jin; Yanmin Wang; Li Jiang

doi:10.54097/w1qkh660

Authors

Jing Jin
Yanmin Wang
Li Jiang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/w1qkh660

Keywords:

German; Low Fertility; Welfare Regime; Family Policy.

Abstract

West Germany has long suffered from a low fertility rate. Sociologists attribute this to the conservative welfare regime. In response, family policy in reunified Germany has been drastically restructured, and family policy has increasingly moved closer to the Nordic model. On the one hand, cash benefits have become more generous and have shifted from mean-tested to universal. On the other hand, there has been a rapid expansion of childcare services, especially for children under the age of three. Both empirical research and real data on Germany support the positive effects of family policy on fertility.

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