PEDIATRICS Vol. 95 No. 3 March 1995, pp. 418
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PAYING GERMANS TO HAVE GERMAMS

J. F. L. MD

Many experts believe that over-population is one of the greatest threats facing humanity and the earth on which we live. Governments around the world are seeking ways to stop population explosions that threaten to overwhelm their economies and social structures.

Germans, however, have precisely the opposite concern. Women have all but stopped having children, especially in states carved from the former East Germany. The birth rate in Brandenburg has fallen by more than two-thirds since 1989—the state had 38 000 births that year, 12 000 last year—and the drops in other eastern German states are almost as dramatic.

Last week, to encourage childbearing, Brandenburg announced plans to pay parents $650 for every baby they produce. At least two other eastern states are considering adopting the Brandenburg system of incentive payments.