abbiate pazienza con l'inglese, l'articolo merita una lettura. Hong Kong é oggi forse la regione con la pķś bassa natalitį del mondo, circa un figlio scarso per donna. Il governo autonomo sta pensando a dei rimedi, ma risulta chiaro a tutti che non basterį un incentivo fiscale per invogliare le donne della regione a far figli...
In Hong Kong, Will Lower Taxes Equal More Babies?
(May 2005) A high-level Hong Kong official stirred up controversy in late February by saying that couples there should have three children, and that the Hong Kong government should reward tax benefits to high-fertility couples in the region.
"Hong Kong has one of the lowest total fertility rates in the world, and we need to think about how to resolve the problems discouraging people from having children," said Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang, who also heads a government task force on population policy.
While many in and out of the Hong Kong government have dismissed Tsang's tax-benefit idea as unrealistic, the media attention the proposal generated highlights some of the challenges countries face when their fertility falls below the two-child average needed to sustain population growth: the prospect of population decline over the long term as well as a short-term imbalance of workers to retirees.
In 2003, Hong Kong's total fertility rate was 0.9 children per woman. And if current trends continue, a quarter of the region's population will be age 65 or over by 2031. Immigration from mainland China (which has an official one-child-per-family policy) has not proven sufficient to counter the region's birth deficit, and Tsang has also called for schemes to attract educated professionalsparticularly young malesto emigrate from the mainland.
Most observers cite the high cost of schooling, shortage of housing, and long work hours expected by Hong Kong employers for dampening the desire to have children. They say it will take much more than a government pronouncement and modest tax incentives to create a child-friendly environment in Hong Kong.
Mary Kent, PRB Editor
References
"Baby Subsidies Won't Solve Population Decline," South China Morning Post, Feb. 22, 2005.
China Daily, "HK Administration Suggests 3 Children Per Couple," accessed online at www.chinadaily.com on May 6, 2005.
Peter Goff, "Hong Kong's Restless Couples Resist Plea to Have More Babies," The Daily Telegraph (London), March 7, 2005.
Hong Kong Census and Statistics Dept., "Vital Events," accessed online at www.info.gov.hk on April 20, 2005.
C.K. Lau, "Find Mainland Men for Our Women," South China Morning Post, Feb. 24, 2005.
Chester Yung, "Parents Snub Tsang Over Family Growth Idea," The Standard March 4, 2005.




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