Recently, Beijing’s Chaoyang District issued an announcement giving priority to public rental housing for waiting families with a large number of underage children.
Previously, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued in August the "Notice on Strengthening the Qualification Review and Distribution Management of Public Rental Housing", which clearly stated: In order to implement national policies, families with a large number of minor children can be exempted from waiting and lottery. , Directly issue a house selection notice to organize house selection.
After the "three-child" policy was liberalized, a supporting reproductive support system was built to suit it, and some localities have taken action.
Prior to Beijing, Panzhihua, Sichuan, Linze, Gansu and other places proposed to grant childbirth subsidies or housing subsidies to families with two and three children.
Beijing directly allocated public rental housing to the first batch of multi-child families, and it was the first city in the country to favor multi-child families in the distribution of public rental housing.
From the granting of subsidies to the allocation of public rental housing, the various measures taken by the relevant departments in various regions indicate that the government's encouragement of childbirth in a "practical" way is becoming a reality.
At present, the main source of "reproductive anxiety" for couples of childbearing age is their concerns about reproductive costs.
Support costs, education costs, housing costs... are all "blockers" that cannot be underestimated for young people who intend to give birth.
These factors will have different emphasis in different regions. In first-tier cities like Beijing, housing problems may be one of the factors that most affect people's fertility behavior.
Therefore, Beijing's proposal to provide public rental housing for multi-child families is quite targeted.
According to statistics, among the public rental housing waiting families in Beijing, there are nearly 3,000 families with two or more minor children, which is not a small group.
Effectively solving their housing needs can not only release the attitude of encouraging childbirth, but also be a pragmatic move that is beneficial to people's livelihood.
The relevant departments have long been concerned about the housing problem in big cities.
In recent years, the construction of affordable housing in various regions has increased significantly.
The "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of Affordable Rental Housing" issued in July this year clearly requires that the supply of public rental housing should be increased, local governments should be encouraged to explore better experiences, and make great efforts to solve outstanding housing problems in big cities. One of the main targets is the youth of childbearing age.
Strengthening housing security for young people of childbearing age and providing direct benefits to families who have given birth will naturally reduce their fertility concerns.
The concept of fertility in society is not only affected by the fertility policy, but also related to a series of economic and social factors.
After the fertility policy was liberalized, it became more and more important to focus on dissolving various social resistances affecting fertility.
In recent years, whether it is the insistence on "housing, housing, no speculation," or the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, many livelihood policies have the effect of changing the social structure that is not conducive to fertility, and have formed a response to the liberalization of the fertility policy. .
Judging from the experience of encouraging fertility abroad, it is not an easy task to change the social fertility concept and behavioral inertia, and it involves a systematic project.
Earlier, the Politburo meeting emphasized that marriage, childbirth, parenting, and education should be considered together, strengthen the education and guidance of marriage and family outlooks for married young people, control bad social customs such as bad marriages, high-priced gifts, and improve the level of prenatal and postnatal care services. Develop an inclusive childcare service system, promote educational equity and the supply of high-quality educational resources, and reduce family education expenditures.
These comprehensive measures are all related to the direction of encouraging fertility.
To do a good job in such a systematic project, relevant departments must know where the young people's fertility concerns are when formulating public policies, so that the right medicine can be prescribed.
In addition, one thing that cannot be ignored is that encouraging fertility and building a fertility-friendly society requires targeted solutions to the "pain points" that hinder fertility, but also systemic thinking and a more long-term perspective.
After all, people's reproductive choices are closely related to their expectations of social development.
The stronger people's expectation of social development will be better, the more confidence in fertility will naturally be.
In this important sense, focusing on building a society full of hope and vitality, so that young people have a full sense of gain, is the biggest practical way to "stabilize fertility."
Zhu Changjun Source: China Youth Daily