Is Demeny Voting the Answer to Low Fertility in Japan?

Reiko Aoki, 玲子 青木, レイコ アオキ and Rhema Vaithianathan

No 435, PIE/CIS Discussion Paper from Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University

Abstract: Japan has the oldest population in the world, and experienced an unprecedented decrease in fertility rates during the post-war period. Despite the well recognized need to provide pronatalist policies, Japan lags behind other developed countries in the generosity of its family benefits. Part of the reason for this is the large voting bloc presented by those in, or close to, retirement, and the weak political power of parents and children. We argue that to reverse the trend, Japan should introduce a Demeny Voting rule, which allows parents to vote on behalf of their children. Such a change would signal a commitment to ongoing generous family policies which in turn would increase fertility.

Pages: 16 pages
Date: 2009-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-cdm and nep-pol
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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