Town In Italy Offers $14,000 For Every Baby Delivered

[matcom]

<snip>

LAVIANO, Italy — Angelina Spiotta had always wanted to be a mother. Married a year, she figured it was time. It didn't hurt that her local government was offering parents nearly $14,000 for every baby delivered in this struggling southern town.

Spiotta gave birth to little Massimo late last fall, "not because of the money," she said, "but the money is a help. It helps for the future."

Across Italy, towns are dying, and like the canary in the coal mine, these small deaths are a sign of what could happen to the country as a whole if its birthrate doesn't climb. As it stands, Italy's population could shrink by a third by 2050; until now, only an influx of immigrants has kept the numbers stable.

The stereotype of the large Italian family in this heavily Roman Catholic country is a thing of the past. For nearly a decade, Italy has had one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Many Italian women, citing primarily economic reasons, forgo bearing offspring altogether or, at most, have just one child.

So the town of Laviano is looking for bambini.

Authorities are offering women money to give birth, part of a campaign to maintain the population and attract newcomers.

"I know someone doesn't have a baby just because of the money," Mayor Rocco Falivena said. "But maybe this will keep some people from leaving, or make them think twice about leaving. We thought we could sound an alarm. Do something provocative."

The money is given to parents over the first five years of the child's life. About 20 couples have availed themselves of the bonus since Falivena introduced the idea in 2003.

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-fg-bambini9feb09.story

[Lavender Brown]

1. *Waits for "Marry an Italian" website to be created*

:7

[Patiod]

2. You should see the fuss when a new Venetian is born

wreaths on the door, signs, the works.

I think Italy has the fastest-declining population in Europe.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

3. Yes, the low birth rates are the major culprit

however, I sure fu!@ing wish the people who wrote these articles actually had lived in Italy or had an idea about social life in Italy. Italy is NOT a heavily Roman Catholic society, in the sense that it is a secular society in attitude and mores. Even among those who describe themselves RCs, there are very very few (more in the south, less in the north) who abide by the RC teachings....

The secular nature of Italian society is also a reason why birth rates have declined. Women are pursuing higher education, they are economically independent and they are informed about their reproductive choices more so than women from previous generations. Even my mom's generation (she was born in 1950) was already different. My mom got married at 22, but she was a college graduate, and so was my dad. She and her friends either knew about or used birth control, were sexually liberated (does not mean 'promiscuous') and knew that having children meant having the ability, financial and emotional, to support them.

In fact, in my kindergarten through high school I was one of very few children with a brother or sister. More than 2/3 of my peers were single children.

Of course, the south of Italy still clings to more conservative gender roles.