How will falling population change the high birth rate? I hadn’t heard an argument that people aren’t having kids because there are too many people. I’d heard that birth rates fall when women get to decide whether to have kids. I’d assumed that’s because having kids is really hard, and that labor has just been dumped on women without their consent in the past.
If this is more or less true, it is subject to change in a wealthier society. I would’ve had kids if I could have been a stay-at-home dad, well-supported by one income. If both parents combined only had to work 20 hours or less, I think people would have a lot more kids. If there were more societal support for having kids (better schools and childcare), even more people would have more kids.
How will falling population change the high birth rate? I hadn’t heard an argument that people aren’t having kids because there are too many people. I’d heard that birth rates fall when women get to decide whether to have kids. I’d assumed that’s because having kids is really hard, and that labor has just been dumped on women without their consent in the past.
If this is more or less true, it is subject to change in a wealthier society. I would’ve had kids if I could have been a stay-at-home dad, well-supported by one income. If both parents combined only had to work 20 hours or less, I think people would have a lot more kids. If there were more societal support for having kids (better schools and childcare), even more people would have more kids.