Re: A Nobel Prize winner decodes why people aren’t having kids

The Washington Post recently published an op-ed about drivers of low birth rates — we replied with a letter, which wasn’t published, so we are featuring it here.

We encourage all our members and supporters to make their voices heard! See our media guide for advice on how to do that.

Dear Editor,

Great to see Heather Long point out some important yet overlooked drivers of low birth rates. Patriarchal expectations and attitudes around childcare that place an outsized burden on mothers clearly play a big role in “ultra-low” fertility countries like South Korea and Spain.

At Population Connection, we also recently conducted research on this topic. In our survey of more than 1,400 US adults, around 15% said that their partner not sharing parenting responsibilities had a major impact on their ability or decision to have children. While this is not insignificant, we found that among adults under 50, by far the top limiting factors were concern over the state of the world (35% said this had a major impact), and not being able to afford [more] kids (34% said this had a major impact). These top reported impacts were followed by mental health (27%), worries about reproductive health care restrictions during pregnancy (25%), lack of support for parents (22%), and conflicting work demands (22%).

For younger adults who don’t plan on having kids, not wanting them was by far the most important factor (46% said this had a major impact).

The reasons behind fertility decline are diverse and complex, and while policies like subsidized childcare are certainly beneficial, they remain largely ineffective at significantly boosting births. Even the Nordic countries that consistently rank the highest for pro-family policies have below-replacement fertility rates. We must not forget that low birth rates are largely a result of people’s preference for small family sizes. Our survey found that the majority of respondents desire a small family of two or fewer children, with two kids being the most popular desired family size.

Instead of aiming to increase births for the sake of the economy, policymakers should prepare for inevitable population aging, and focus on removing the barriers that prevent some people from fulfilling their desired family size. This means investing in social services, programs that support families, health care, and environmental protection because, let’s face it, raising kids in a society that prioritizes profit over people and an environment that is teetering on the brink of collapse is terrifying. Trump administration, take note.

Sincerely,

Olivia Nater
Communications Manager
Population Connection