For those of you who have an interest in demography, immigration, Social Security, sustainability and/or just the general shape of the future, you might be interested in a lengthy article in this Sunday’s NYT Magazine discussing the causes and potential impact of Europe’s record-low birthrate.
Some of the points raised in the article
- In parts of Europe, the birth rate has dropped to roughly 60% of the rate needed to maintain a static population (ignoring migration).
- Demographers in Europe are particularly concerned about the sustainability of pension schemes in an environment where the worker-to-retiree ratio is so low; some European countries are toying with workforce-expanding measures including increasing retirement age to the unthinkable (?!) age of 65.
- Several towns in eastern Germany are apparently de-developing unused neighborhoods and districts, downsizing and combating urban blight to better support their smaller populations.
- In Western societies, it’s theorized that birth rates are increased when either there is extensive social support for working mothers (e.g. subsidized daycare, and extensive maternity and paternity leave in northern Europe), or when society doesn’t penalize working mothers who take a few years off from their career (e.g. the United States). Countries where society expects mothers to stay at home with the children (Italy, Greece) see the lowest birthrates.
It’s a fascinating read.
