More Kids Could Mean Cash for Greek Moms

ATHENS, Greece - Greece's conservative government is weighing cash bonuses, tax breaks and faster pension rights for mothers of three or more children as the country confronts one of the lowest birth rates in Europe.

The proposals under review by the Finance Ministry would sweeten an existing "third-child" benefit — currently about $215 a month — and extend it to more families, officials said Friday. One plan would pay new mothers a lump sum of about $2,400 per child after the second.

Greek women now bear an average of fewer than 1.3 children, well below the 2.1 needed to keep the population stable. At current rates, Greece's population is projected to begin shrinking within two decades, with a labor force too small to support its retirees.

"Demographics is our national issue," a government spokesman said. "It is the quiet crisis — slower than a debt crisis, but just as dangerous."

Greece is not alone. Italy, Spain, Germany and Japan all face similar declines, and several countries — notably France, which has Europe's highest birth rate — already subsidize larger families. France's success is cited constantly in the Greek debate.

Economists caution that rich countries that have tried bonuses have seen only modest results; the families most likely to respond are the poorest. "Money changes the timing of births more than the number," one demographer said.

Women's groups argue the deeper problems are a shortage of child care, long working hours and cultural expectations that leave mothers shouldering most of the burden at home.

The Finance Ministry says it will decide on a package this fall. Whatever the incentives, the spokesman acknowledged, "no government can order a baby boom."