How do maternity leave policies influence fertility rates?

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of maternity leave policies on fertility rates and puts forward some policy recommendations for coping with my country’s current fertility problems. By analyzing the historical maternity leave policies and fertility trends of Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and Greece, it can be seen that maternity leave policies do play an important role in promoting or inhibiting fertility intentions. First, the duration of maternity leave has a direct impact on women’s fertility decisions. Longer maternity leave not only gives mothers more time to recover and take care of their babies, but also reduces the pressure on families in the early stages of childcare. For example, after extending maternity leave, Sweden and Singapore saw a rebound and stabilization in fertility rates, indicating that longer maternity leave duration has a certain positive correlation with fertility intentions. Second, salary compensation and economic support are important factors in determining the effectiveness of maternity leave. Paid maternity leave can not only alleviate the economic burden of child-rearing families, but also reduce women’s concerns about career interruptions caused by childbirth. Sweden provides high maternity leave subsidies to help families reduce childcare costs, thereby encouraging more women to choose to have children. In Japan and South Korea, due to the low economic compensation during maternity leave, many women still face greater economic pressure, and the fertility rate has therefore remained at a low level for a long time. Finally, a sound childcare support policy is also crucial to raising the fertility rate. Simply extending maternity leave is not enough to effectively increase the willingness to have children. It also needs to be combined with supporting policies such as childcare services and childcare subsidies. Singapore has successfully curbed the continued decline in fertility by increasing childcare subsidies and improving childcare services. In general, maternity leave policies have a significant impact on fertility rates under certain conditions. Extending the length of maternity leave, providing reasonable financial support, and improving childcare services can all help increase the willingness of families of childbearing age to have children.