For French President Emmanuel Macron, more babies are vital to maintain the country¡¯s national vigor. Italy¡¯s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made encouraging more Italian women to give birth a top priority.
But, demographers and economists say, Europe¡¯s attempts to boost its flagging birth rate are missing the mark. They urge a rethink ¡ª including a change of tack to accept and embrace the economic realities of an aging population.
¡°It¡¯s very, very difficult to increase fertility,¡± said Anna Matysiak who, as associate professor of labor market and family dynamics at the University of Warsaw, has observed years of underachieving pro-natalist policies across central Europe.
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