Want a Promotion at the University? Have a Baby!
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Want a zero-interest loan? Have a baby!
Want a new car faster? Have a baby!The Iranian state is now on a mission to reverse the birth rate decline. It has made access to contraceptives and abortions rare and expensive. It has created a register to track pregnant women. And it is offering various incentives to get people to have babies, some with dark, unintentional consequences. E.g., the offer of zero-interest loan to people willing to have babies have led to increases of “chid brides” in certain parts of Iraq because of men eager to take advantage of this offer.
The criticism to its effort is similar to criticisms of like efforts elsewhere: it does not really address the real cause of why people don’t want to have kids — it’s way too expensive to actually raise a kid.
