A case can be made for the temporary subsidization of child-rearing in countries with aging populations and a historical commitment to PAYG (pay as you go) methods of financing welfare programs. Recently, however, Yew-kwang Ng has argued that, even in an otherwise perfectly functioning competitive economy, the rate of population growth may be suboptimal and in need of artificial stimulation. It is here
suggested that Ng's proposition, already well-received, rests on debatable assumptions and that if those assumptions are abandoned then so must be the proposition, at least in its present form.

Special issue in honor of Prpfessor Michihiro Ohyama