Throughout the course of this assignment, policies will be recommended to Italy regarding the steps that it could take in order to achieve a sustainable society. The nation has a very low birth rate and an aging population, meaning that it is important for this issue to be explored. All relevant literature will be examined and conclusions will be drawn based upon the information that is touched upon.

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Lutz and Skirbekk suggest that declining populations can be mitigated via bringing in policies that are aimed at encouraging immigrants from other nations to move to the country in question (2005). The law regarding immigration could be relaxed so that more people who were born in foreign countries would be allowed to enter Italy. This would not solve the problem of the falling population but would be likely to make it less severe (Lutz & Skirbekk, 2005).

According to Billari, Kohler and Ortega, another step that could be implemented is an improvement in measures aimed at supporting women with children, for instance longer periods of paid maternity leave and better access to housing for mothers (2006). This would remove some of the burdens that are placed upon women who have children and make them more likely to want to fall pregnant.

Bringing in more funded childcare and after-school programs will also increase women’s likelihood to wish to have children (Billari, Kohler and Ortega, 2006). This will help to remove the belief that many people hold that giving birth results in a decrease in financial status. It will provide an incentive for individuals to choose to start families.

In conclusion, there are numerous different policies that the Italian government could implement in order to combat the nation’s falling population. Some of these measures are based upon removing financial barriers to childbirth and others are aimed at encouraging people to enter the country from other nations. Bringing in all of these policies together could help to keep the population stable and avoid it dwindling away to a level that would negatively impact upon the country.