Monday, February 23, 2026

This Western Country Is Offering Parents Cash Incentives to Boost Birth Rate.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The capital city of Spain has launched a financial incentive program to encourage higher birth rates, offering payments to parents for having children.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida and the city government.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The program, announced in October 2022, officially began on Tuesday and applies to children born or adopted after June 1, 2025, in Madrid, Spain.

đź’¬KEY QUOTE: “There are people who want to start a family, but they don’t have the right conditions to do so.” – JosĂ© Luis MartĂ­nez-Almeida

🎯IMPACT: The initiative aims to address Spain’s declining birth rate and aging population by providing financial support to families.

IN FULL

A new program in Spain‘s capital, Madrid, is offering families a small financial incentive to have more children as the European Union (EU) country seeks to improve its birth rate. Parents in the city can apply for a subsidy equivalent to $578 (€500) for their initial child, $868 (€750) for a second child, and $1,157 (€1,000) for each additional child thereafter.

The Spanish fertility rate currently sits at a meager 1.4 live births per woman, far below the 2.1 replacement rate considered necessary to maintain population levels. Madrid Mayor JosĂ© Luis MartĂ­nez-Almeida implemented the natality program with the aim of reversing the city and country’s declining birth rate and assisting families with the economic challenges of having children.

Notably, most European countries are contending with an aging population and live births that are well below the replacement level, despite mass migration from the Third World.

The subsidy applies to children born or adopted after June 1, 2025, and parents must apply within two months of the birth or adoption. Applications can be submitted online or at municipal offices. The city government has allocated over $20 million (€17.3 million) to the program’s initial phase, with plans to increase the budget if demand exceeds expectations.

Spain’s national government also offers tax deductions ranging upwards of $1,390 (€1,200) per year for children under age three. Meanwhile, regional governments in Andalucia and Valencia also provide subsidies. Mayor MartĂ­nez-Almeida stated during the program’s announcement: “There are people who want to start a family, but they don’t have the right conditions to do so.”

Image by Lisa.

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Trump Admin Exploring $5,000 Baby Bonus Plan to Tackle Demographic Decline.

PULSE POINTS:

âť“What Happened: The White House is considering a “baby bonus” of $5,000 for new mothers to encourage higher birth rates in the U.S.

👥 Who’s Involved: White House aides, policy experts, birth rate advocates, and the Trump administration, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

📍 Where & When: United States, ongoing discussions reported by The New York Times.

đź’¬ Key Quote: “While a $5,000 baby bonus may temporarily increase birth rates…such financial incentives alone have minimal lasting impact on overall birth rates,” stated Theodore D. Cosco, a research fellow at Oxford Institute of Population Ageing.

⚠️ Impact: If implemented, the policy could provide financial assistance to new mothers, but experts caution it may not significantly alter birth rates without broader systemic support.

IN FULL:

The White House is examining a proposal to offer a $5,000 “baby bonus” for women having children to address declining birth rates in the United States. This comes amid discussions with policy experts and advocates seeking solutions to boost the nation’s fertility figures, as an alternative to mass migration.

Encouraging more births could address long-term demographic challenges, with more deaths than births observed in recent years. The Congressional Budget Office projects the U.S. fertility rate to average 1.6 births per woman over the next 30 years, well below the 2.1 necessary for maintaining a stable population without mass migration.

President Donald J. Trump has previously expressed concern over birth rates. Initiatives under this administration have included expanding IVF access and prioritizing federal funding for regions with marriage and birth rates above the national average. Vice President J.D. Vance also wants to see “more babies” born in the U.S.

Comparative policies in other countries show mixed results. Australia’s “baby bonus” and Hungary’s pro-family policies offer insights into various approaches, yet external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, and their associated shocks to jobs and prices, have hampered their short-term effectiveness.

Mass migration is unlikely to be a long-term solution to demographic issues, however. United Nations studies dating back to the turn of the century show that, because migrants also age, the annual influx would have to increase to impossibly vast totals to maintain a 4:1 ratio of working-age people to senior citizens.

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