Birth rate – a cause for worry, say sociologists

Sociologists warn about reducing the maternity leave period or lowering the subsidies because these would have a negative impact on birth rate and, consequently, on Romania’s demographic stability.

Participants at the first International Conference of the Sociologic Community of Romania, in progress at Cluj Napoca, considers that, since these are the government’s intentions, their warnings were ignored many times and, had they been considered, many of the latest political and economic errors could have been avoided.

Authorities haven’t managed to make the most of sociologic expertise, says the dean of the Sociologic and Social Assistance Faculty of Cluj, Dan Chelibuca.

‘If we don’t clearly highlight the impact of public policies, then the pressure on regulators to consider research when making decisions will be diminished’, Dan Chelibuca stated.

Sociologists gathered at an international conference in Cluj have also given a series of examples that show a difference between political decisions and scientific research data.

For example, there are reasons to believe that birth rate could fall if the government decides to reduce the maternity leave period or lower the subsidies for parent on parental leave.

And that is because when the state increased commodities for mothers, this led to a growing birth rate.


Translated by Ciocănel Tudor
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University