Lee Kuan Yew on fertility rates:
“If I were in charge of Singapore today, I would introduce a baby bonus equal to two years' worth of the average Singaporean's salary. The sum would be enough to see the child through to the start of primary school at least. Would I expect the number of babies to increase substantially? No. I am convinced that even super-size monetary inducements would only have a marginal effect on fertility rates. But I would still go ahead and offer the bonus, for at least a year, just to prove beyond any doubt that our low birth rates have nothing to do with economic or financial factors, such as high cost of living or lack of government help for parents.
They are instead the result of changed lifestyles and mindsets. … Once women are educated and have equal job opportunities, they no longer see their primary role as bearing children or taking care of the household. They want to be able to pursue their careers fully just as men have always been able to. They have very different expectations about whether or whom they should marry because they are financially independent. There is no turning back the clock, unless we want to stop educating women.”