"We need more babies!" the Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, said recently. The world was in danger of running short of Singaporeans, he said.

And, Singapore being Singapore, a campaign has begun that focuses more on people's financial calculations than on that hard-to-quantify thing that is called romance.

The Working Committee on Marriage and Procreation has developed monetary and workplace incentives that go into effect this month, to convince people that having children is a better deal than going without.

In what it calls the Baby Bonus Scheme, the government is offering cash to couples who have second and third children, extending maternity leave and adding a brief paternity leave for government workers. It is experimenting with flexible working hours to make child rearing easier, and offering young couples special deals on flat rentals.

The local press has become involved, filling its pages with encomiums to the joys not only of parenthood but of sex. "Let's Get on the Love Wagon," urged a headline in the Straits Times not long after Mr Goh's speech. It meant that literally. The article gave tips for having sex in the back seat of a car, complete with directions to "some of the darkest, most secluded and most romantic spots for Romeos and Juliets". It suggested covering the windows with newspapers for privacy.

Like citizens of other nations with rising living standards, Singaporeans have been choosing for two decades now to have smaller families. The birth rate has fallen to 1.5 children per woman of childbearing age - far below the 2.5 needed to maintain the population level.

Other places in Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, are suffering similar problems with declining birthrates.
                                                          -The New York Times