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A change in tax policy could result in a higher birth rate in Germany. This is the result of a new study published as a discussion paper by the ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin). “The birth rate could be 5.7 percent higher if the German policy of “spousal splitting” were abolished and thus tax benefits were no longer linked to marriage certificates but to children,” says Hanna Wang, project manager at RFBerlin and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
In addition, tax benefits per child would have to be roughly doubled. “In such a package, the maximum parental allowance would also have to be doubled,” notes Wang. “Nursery fees would have to be reduced by just under 10 percent. Child benefits would also have to be increased significantly.” The study also proposes cutting some welfare benefits to keep the cost to the state neutral. For example, Wang suggests parental allowance be reduced from 66 percent of wages to 57 percent.
Prof. Hanna Wang, 0034/ 67 50 94 700; hanna.wang@uab.cat
Essay: “Fertility and Family Leave Policies in Germany: Optimal Policy Design in a Dynamic Framework” by Hanna Wang, in: RFBerlin Discussion Papers No. 29/2026
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