Housing policy can be used to improve birth rates

I refer to the letter “Don’t let ‘no flat, no baby’ become self-fulfilling prophecy” (Oct 24, online).

The writer highlighted an apparent irony that poor countries generally have higher birth rates than developed countries, suggesting that affordability or harsh, volatile conditions do not appear to impede child-rearing.

There is a simple explanation for this: Female empowerment. Countries with high birth rates are generally those where women are discriminated against and have low social status, without the means to live independently.

They have little choice but to get married and have children. In fact, many of them would be forced into marriage by their family. Their well-being would depend on their husband and children.

In most developed countries, women freely pursue their personal goals — family, career or other interests — and need not be constrained by child-rearing, notwithstanding the satisfaction it would bring. Most of them make a trade-off between children and other goals.

At a macro level, these trade-offs lead to lower birth rates in these countries. Hence it is impossible for Singapore to return to the era of high birth rates; most of us also want the best for our daughters and granddaughters.

A change in housing policy, however, could help to raise our birth rates. Public housing looms large in Singapore and our housing policy is family-centric.

Unlike in some other countries, most young adults cannot afford to live on their own until they qualify for public housing when they get married.

Perhaps owing to the comfort of living with their parents, they may be less inclined to go out socialising, or because they are less independent, they are less attractive to the opposite sex.

I would therefore suggest that the Government build flats in prime areas near workplaces and rent them to young working adults at subsidised rates. They would have to be citizens, single and below 35 years old to qualify.

This would create villages of singles who are of marriageable age, and create opportunities for them to know one another and, with luck, get hitched.

This could be a worthwhile investment and could help to improve our marriage rates, and thus birth rates.

There could be stories similar to that of an aspiring actress getting hitched to a college professor, as in the television series The Big Bang Theory.