[lbo-talk] Declining Fertility Rates (cushy life/strict equality)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Miles Jackson cqmv at pdx.edu, Wed Jan 26 13:18:12 PST 2005:
>Family relations are an interesting example that (to some degree) 
>undermines Justin's argument. According to any rational assessment 
>of incentives and investment, raising children is an awful decision. 
>They're a huge economic liability, they divert time and energy from 
>other creative and potentially productive activities, they require 
>constant psychological and social support.  Perhaps in the past, 
>people could say, "I raised them, and in my dotage they'll look 
>after me"; however, I know few people who believe this today (I 
>certainly don't expect it of my kids!).  In sum, there are few or no 
>tangible incentives for parents to raise kids.
>
>--And yet we do!

But progressively fewer and fewer.

<blockquote>* Total fertility rates have fallen from 4.9 births per 
woman between 1965 and 1970 to 2.7 between 2000 and 2005. The highest 
fertility rates in the world are in Africa and western Asia; Niger 
(7.5), Gaza (7.4), Somalia (7.3), and Yemen (7.2) have the highest 
rates in the world. The lowest fertility rates are in more developed 
regions, particularly in Eastern and Southern Europe.

* In 2000, 44 percent of the world's population lived in countries 
with fertility rates at or below replacement level. . . .

<http://www.prcdc.org/summaries/worldpop/worldpop.html></blockquote>

<blockquote>Women in Italy enjoy a very high status compared with 
women in developing nations. Literacy for men and women is almost the 
same (98% of males and 96% for women). In Italy, for the first  time 
in world history, women have surpassed men in the field of education: 
more women between ages 20-25 pursue a degree (secondary or higher) 
than men. Additionally, there are more women in the workforce than 
men.

Driven by a desire for education, a career and prosperity, Italian 
women are choosing to spend more time working outside of the home. 
Subsequently, the birth rate has dropped dramatically. Italy holds 
the second lowest birth rate in the world--1.19 births per woman. 
(Currently, Spain holds this title with a birth rate of 1.15). The 
Italian birth rate of 1.19 children is less than half the 2.1 birth 
per woman to keep population constant. But it's not just Italy that's 
experiencing a "birth dearth." Women throughout the developed world 
are increasingly having fewer children. The Czech Republic, Romania 
and Bulgaria all are producing children at a rate of just 1.2 per 
women. Germany, Japan, Greece, Russia, Portugal, Hungary and the 
Ukraine all have similar fertility rates.

SOURCES:
1. Longman, Phillip,J., The World Turns Gray, U.S. News and World 
Report, March 1, 1999
2. Specter, Michael, Population Implosion Worries a Graying Europe, 
The New York Times, July 10, 1998
3. The Audubon Society
<http://www.pbs.org/sixbillion/italy/it-status.html></blockquote>

As soon as women get educated, they stop having children.
-- 
Yoshie

* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/>
* "Proud of Britain": <http://www.proudofbritain.net/ > and 
<http://www.proud-of-britain.org.uk/>