Europe has suffered the risk of economic stagnation as a result of a meager birth rate. Italy has been hit the worst among the European countries. The number of newborns has dropped drastically over the last few years, causing a shrink of the country’s population. This demographic mess of an aging workforce and a shrank population has led to chronic economic stagnation (Price at el., 2020). Though the death rate has increased slightly, Italian people have a high life expectancy. The increased life expectancy explains why her workforce consists of the aged.
Italian low birth rate is associated with high infertility rates in the country. The southern parts of Italy suffer more from infertility in comparison to the northern. Low fertility has also caused a transition to late births. The young population of Italy, which could solve the crisis, has migrated to other countries to seek jobs with a better income. Low income and economic stagnation have made life difficult for the Italians, hence living without children because they cannot be able to take care of them.
The European governments have introduced new policies that promote and encourage family life with children. Further measures such as baby bonuses, paid parental leave, and tax incentives have made it easier for them to bear and take care of their children. The governments have also provided welfare payments and free meals at school. Covid-19 has negatively affected Italy’s birth rates as most young people have altered and postponed their fertility plans (Boccia et al., 2020). The pandemic will lead Italy into a significant population shrank crisis because of the country’s altered fertility plans. The state will suffer from a reduced birth rate and reduced life expectancy as the virus kills the aged quickly.
References
Boccia, S., Ricciardi, W., & Ioannidis, J. P. (2020). What other countries can learn from Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA internal medicine, 180(7), 927-928. Web.
Price, M., Rowntree, L., Lewis, M., & Wyckoff, W. (2020). Globalization and diversity (6th ed.). Pearson.