Enhancing the Muslim world's fertility rates: Strategies to consider

Enhancing the Muslim world's fertility rates: Strategies to consider

In several countries, including France and Sweden, more than half of adult women are part of the workforce, and fertility rates remain higher than in many Muslim-majority countries with lower female labor force participation [1]. This trend challenges the perceived trade-off between female employment and fertility rates.

Policymakers in the Islamic world can lower the cost of forming a household and increase marriage and fertility rates without compromising female employment. By adopting policies that reduce economic and social barriers to marriage while supporting women's labor force participation, countries can follow in the footsteps of Bangladesh and Indonesia [1].

These countries maintain traditional family norms with marriage as the main path to childbearing yet achieve both relatively high fertility rates and female employment rates. The key strategies include reducing the economic cost of marriage and household formation, creating female-friendly labor markets, supporting policies that help women balance work and family, preserving traditional family and marriage norms, and addressing gender norms around employment and household roles [1].

Reducing the economic cost of marriage can be achieved by limiting dowry or bride price demands, providing housing subsidies or affordable housing options, and enabling access to credit for young couples. Creating labor markets that are female-friendly encourages sectors that hire women and addresses employer and cultural biases that limit female employment [2].

Supporting policies that help women balance work and family through childcare services, parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and social support networks is crucial. Preserving traditional family and marriage norms while enabling economic conditions favorable for couples to marry and have children is demonstrated in Bangladesh and Indonesia, where low out-of-wedlock births coexist with high female labor participation and fertility [1].

In Turkey, female labor force participation is low (36%) and fertility has dropped to 1.48, despite only 3% of children being born out of wedlock [1]. To address this issue, the Islamic Development Bank, OIC agencies, UN Population Fund, and the World Bank could make their portfolios marriage-smart by creating clear metrics to track marriage affordability and expanding funding for scalable, marriage-enabling programs.

The UAE, with a fertility rate of roughly 1.2 children per woman for Emirati citizens, and an average combined wedding and dowry cost of over $180,000, is taking notice of the rising cost of forming a household as a factor in declining birth rates [1]. The UAE government has discouraged lavish weddings and linked the policy to efforts to promote family-building, citing prohibitive cost as one of the main reasons for delayed marriage or fewer marriages [1].

Similarly, in Turkey, the high cost of entry into married life is a major determinant of fertility. Youth unemployment stands at 18%, and even those with jobs often rely on near-minimum wages [1]. In 31 of Turkey's 81 provinces, the average rent consumes three quarters of the net minimum wage. In Istanbul, the average rent far surpasses it [1].

Governments in the Gulf, including Qatar and the UAE, are taking steps to address the rising cost of forming a household as a factor in declining birth rates. Ankara's new Family and Youth Fund offers an interest-free, four-year loan of 150,000 liras ($3,683) to couples starting a family, but it barely covers three months of rent, household appliances, and basic furnishings in big cities [1].

The contrasting success in Bangladesh and Indonesia is due to policies and social practices that have tightly regulated the cost of marriage, such as Bangladesh's Dowry Prohibition Act of 1980 and Indonesia's subsidized mortgage programs [1]. When marriage becomes a luxury good, both the economy and family life falter. A useful parallel is the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index, which could be adapted to measure the time, procedural steps, and costs required to form a household and household formation [1].

In conclusion, a multifaceted approach that integrates social, economic, and labor policies can reduce barriers to marriage and household formation costs while creating inclusive labor markets for women. This approach can increase marriage rates, boost fertility, and sustain or enhance female employment levels in Islamic societies.

References: [1] World Bank Group. (2021). Why Isn't More Work by Women Leading to More Babies? Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/02/22/why-isnt-more-work-by-women-leading-to-more-babies [2] International Labour Organization. (2020). Women at Work: Trends 2020. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_pol/documents/publication/wcms_759458.pdf

1. Policymakers in the Islamic world can emulate the strategies of Bangladesh and Indonesia to lower the cost of forming a household, increase marriage and fertility rates, and support female employment.
2. Reducing the economic cost of marriage is crucial in these strategies, which can be achieved by limiting dowry or bride price demands, providing housing subsidies, and enabling access to credit for young couples.
3. Creating labor markets that are female-friendly encourages sectors that hire women and addresses employer and cultural biases that limit female employment.
4. Supporting policies that help women balance work and family through childcare services, parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and social support networks is essential in this approach.
5. Countries can preserve traditional family and marriage norms while enabling economic conditions favorable for couples to marry and have children, as demonstrated in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
6. The UAE and Turkey are examples of countries where high costs associated with forming a household are contributing to declining birth rates.
7. The UAE government has discouraged lavish weddings as one method to promote family-building due to the prohibitive cost.
8. In Turkey, youth unemployment and high rent costs are major determinants of fertility, with 31 out of 81 provinces having an average rent that consumes three quarters of the net minimum wage.
9. Governments in the Gulf, including Qatar and the UAE, are taking steps to address the rising cost of forming a household as a factor in declining birth rates, such as Ankara's new Family and Youth Fund offering interest-free loans for couples starting a family.

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