According to the experts cited by the American newspaper, the reasons for this anomaly are found in the fact that “over time the provincial government has developed a dense network of benefits for families that go well beyond the one-off bonuses for births offered at a national level” However, there are those who dispute the picture described by the New York Times, claiming a decline in births in the region too
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Birth crisis throughout Italy. Almost. An analysis by the New York Times has in fact analyzed the data concerning Alto Adige and discovered that the region has the highest fertility in the country with 1.51 children for each woman (the Italian average is 1.24). The American newspaper praises the “South Tyrol model against the demographic winter in Italy”.
Local government measures
According to the experts cited by the American newspaper, the reasons for this anomaly are found in the fact that “over time the provincial government has developed a dense network of benefits for families that go well beyond the one-off bonuses for births offered at a national level” . In fact, parents “have discounts on nursery, baby products, groceries, healthcare, energy bills, transportation, after-school activities and summer camps.” But not only that, the NYT also writes that the Province “supplements state funding with hundreds of euros more per child and boasts childcare programs”.
see also
The collapse in birth rates does not stop: six newborns per thousand inhabitants
Measures that are also common to France and the Scandinavian countries
The measures taken to address the birth rate crisis – writes the NYT – help to free women and men from work. It seems counterintuitive but this “is vital for the economy” and is an aspect that Alto Adige has in common with France and some Scandinavian countries. Furthermore, it demonstrates how offering affordable daycare services works “from the impending demographic precipice that Italy finds itself at”.
see also
Natality, Schillaci: “Emergency that requires support for families”
There are those who disagree
The spokeswoman for the Alleanza per le Famiglie association, Christa Ladurner, however, disputes the “birth paradise” described by the New York Times in an interview with the Alto Adige newspaper. “Births are also falling rapidly in Alto Adige. In 2019, 5,249 children were born; in 2023, 4,671. That means 578 fewer; equal to -12%. It is the historic minimum in births from 1970 to today” she comments. Furthermore, she adds that the high cost of living in the region does not help in any way. “young people, despite working for two, struggle to pay the rent for accommodation”.
