Johnathan Bi The Chinese Billionaire Paying People to Have Kids | James Liang on Demography
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Feb 21, 2026 James Liang, entrepreneur and co-founder of Trip.com turned academic, explores fertility, innovation, and policy. He explains corporate baby bonuses and why rich countries have fewer children. He links youth to risk-taking innovation, warns how aging can stall change, and discusses policy levers like cash support, parental leave, and cultural shifts to boost births.
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Fund Young Families Directly
- Give young families financial and time support to raise fertility, e.g., cash, tax rebates, loans, and childcare.
- Companies can directly help by offering generous child benefits like $50,000 per baby and parental leave.
Demography Drives Innovation Capacity
- Demographic decline can cause long-term innovation slowdowns, as Japan showed after youth cohorts shrank.
- Age structure, not just policy mistakes, explains decades-long stagnation in innovation.
Old Majorities Bias Institutions
- Aging cohorts consolidate power in companies and politics, making institutions more conservative and risk-averse.
- That seniority dominance slows adoption of new technologies and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth.
