Family policy in Singapore: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:48, 9 March 2014

This page gives information of type family policy about the country Singapore.
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Context of fertility goals

The Singaporean government started off in 1966 as antinatalist (more specifically, they tried to promote the two-child ideal in opposition to norms that encouraged more children). In 1983, they switched to a eugenic policy that encouraged high-education women to have more children and discouraged low-education women from having more than two children. Starting 1987, they switched to a uniformly pro-natalist policy for all people.

Timeline of policy

Year	Event	Postulated effects seen in fertility statistics	Total fertility rate values in that year and nearby years (relevant year in bold)
1966	The government of Singapore established a "Family Planning and Population Board" which used a combination of persuasive and coercive tactics. The government launched a propaganda campaign with emphasis on the importance of the two-child ideal.	The government's activities might have helped along the decline in Singapore's fertility, but the data don't suggest any change in the trend line at the time the government introduced these policies.	4.658, 4.356, 4.074, 3.815, 3.582
1983	The government switched to a selective (eugenic) pro-natalist policy, providing tax breaks to highly educated women who had three or more children, while giving cash incentives to women with low levels of education who refrained from having more than two children.	This might have led to a temporary slowdown in the general decline trend.	1.78, 1.74, 1.61, 1.62, 1.61
1987	The government initiated a "New Population Policy" encouraging everybody to have more children. The "Two is Enough" messages were replaced by messages of the "Have Three or More Children If You Can" form.	This might have led to the uptick in fertility 1986-1988, before the resumption of the general downward trend.	1.61, 1.43, 1.62, 1.96, 1.75
2000	The government announced "Baby Bonus" programs as well as "Child Development Accounts" that provided government-matched long-term savings for kids.	Although the value in 2000 was anomalously high relative to earlier and later years, this is generally attributed to it being the Year of the Dragon.	1.48, 1.47, 1.6, 1.41, 1.37

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 | 1987 || The government initiated a "New Population Policy" encouraging ''everybody'' to have more children. The "Two is Enough" messages were replaced by messages of the "Have Three or More Children If You Can" form. || This might have led to the uptick in fertility 1986-1988, before the resumption of the general downward trend. ||  1.61, 1.43, '''1.62''', 1.96, 1.75
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-| 1988 || Year of the Dragon (auspicious for births) || Anomalously high fertility in that year || 1.43, 1.62, '''1.96''', 1.75, 1.83
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 | 2000 || The government announced "Baby Bonus" programs as well as "Child Development Accounts" that provided government-matched long-term savings for kids. || Although the value in 2000 was anomalously high relative to earlier and later years, this is generally attributed to it being the Year of the Dragon. || 1.48, 1.47, '''1.6''', 1.41, 1.37
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-| 2000 || Year of the Dragon (auspicious year for births) || Anomalously high value in that year relative to earlier and later years. || 1.48, 1.47, '''1.6''', 1.41, 1.37
 |}