Vietnam is paying women to have more babies—but there’s a catch: they have to be on baby no. 2 to qualify for the cash bonus

Like Elon Musk and governments around the world, Vietnam wants more babies, and it’s offering women cash to set their careers aside to have multiple. 

The government is pledging VND 1.8 trillion ($68 million) a year in cash bonuses to help reverse its declining fertility rate. But there’s a huge catch: You have to already have one specifically living biological child at the time of the birth and be under 35 years old to qualify. 

Under the country’s new Population Law, women who have their second child before turning 35 will receive a minimum of VND 2 million (about $75.86) starting this month. And while millions may sound like a lot, in context it’s about the same price as a fine-dining meal for two.

Men whose wives deliver a second baby qualify too, as do families from ethnic minority groups and those living in areas with below-replacement fertility rates.

But it’s unclear whether there is the same age stipulation for men. It’s also unclear if women........

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