Taiwan's birthrate crisis: Experts urge systemic support over cash incentives

Taiwan's declining birthrate has spurred a competitive race among local governments to offer increasingly generous cash incentives for childbirth. This approach, however, is being questioned for its long-term effectiveness and financial sustainability.

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TSMC's high productivity is not from high bonuses, but from a long-term family-friendly system.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) chairman C.C. Wei highlighted that the tech giant's superior productivity is built on a long-term, family-friendly system, not high bonuses. This system supports employees from pregnancy through their children's growth, reducing the time and financial burdens of childcare. This contrasts sharply with the government's focus on one-time cash payments.

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The decision to have children is often influenced by housing, childcare, education, and work-life balance.

Experts argue that decisions about having children are influenced by multiple factors, including housing, childcare, education, and work-life balance. They contend that one-time cash subsidies have limited and unsustainable effects. The current policy debate, they say, is too narrowly focused on the monetary amount, leading to a fragmented allocation of resources and increasing the financial strain on local governments.

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The focus should be on systemic design, not just the amount of money offered.

There is a call for a shift from a competition over cash amounts to a focus on systemic reforms. The central government is urged to consolidate scattered incentive measures into a unified, equitable national childcare support system. This approach aims to ensure that families feel empowered to have and raise children, addressing the root causes of the birthrate crisis and securing the nation's future workforce.

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The central government can further integrate scattered birth incentive measures into a more consistent and fair national childcare support system.