Volume 53 - Article 14 | Pages 373–418
Should we be concerned about low fertility? A discussion of six possible arguments
Abstract
Objective: The low fertility in high-income countries has raised concerns among the public, politicians, and social scientists. In this paper, six possible arguments for considering low fertility as a ‘problem’ – in the sense that political interventions might be warranted – are presented and discussed.
Conclusions: One argument, which is widely recognized and clearly relevant, is that low fertility exacerbates ageing and leads to lower population growth, which may have adverse aggregate-level economic effects. The environment may also be affected, but more likely in a positive way. A second argument focuses on low fertility stemming from subfecundity and possibly inadequate access to fertility treatments, which may be a source of strong dissatisfaction. Two other individual-level arguments are based on the idea that intentions to have few or no children may not actually align with individuals’ own best interests, or that there is a gap between desired and intended fertility. However, the first idea lacks sufficient empirical evidence, while the second requires additional supporting ideas to form a strong argument for considering low fertility a problem. The fifth argument, about the possibility that low fertility may influence parents and children in ways that have economic and other implications for society, is also very challenging to substantiate empirically. The sixth argument is based on an entirely different perspective, where low fertility is considered as partly a result of economic uncertainty or other individual or societal factors that themselves constitute a problem, given their broadly adverse consequences for individuals’ wellbeing.
Contribution: The presentation and discussion of these arguments may help structure and clarify future discussions about whether steps should be taken to increase fertility.
Author’s Affiliation
- Øystein Kravdal - Universitetet i Oslo, Norway EMAIL
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
The influence of parental cancer on the mental health of children and young adults: Evidence from Norwegian register data on healthcare consultations
Volume 50 - Article 27
Are sibling models a suitable tool in analyses of how reproductive factors affect child mortality?
Volume 42 - Article 28
Taking birth year into account when analysing effects of maternal age on child health and other outcomes: The value of a multilevel-multiprocess model compared to a sibling model
Volume 40 - Article 43
The increasing mortality advantage of the married: The role played by education
Volume 38 - Article 20
What has high fertility got to do with the low birth weight problem in Africa?
Volume 28 - Article 25
Further evidence of community education effects on fertility in sub-Saharan Africa
Volume 27 - Article 22
Children's stunting in sub-Saharan Africa: Is there an externality effect of high fertility?
Volume 25 - Article 18
Demographers’ interest in fertility trends and determinants in developed countries: Is it warranted?
Volume 22 - Article 22
Does income inequality really influence individual mortality?: Results from a ‘fixed-effects analysis’ where constant unobserved municipality characteristics are controlled
Volume 18 - Article 7
Effects of current education on second- and third-birth rates among Norwegian women and men born in 1964: Substantive interpretations and methodological issues
Volume 17 - Article 9
Does cancer affect the divorce rate?
Volume 16 - Article 15
A simulation-based assessment of the bias produced when using averages from small DHS clusters as contextual variables in multilevel models
Volume 15 - Article 1
Educational differentials in male mortality in Russia and northern Europe: A comparison of an epidemiological cohort from Moscow and St. Petersburg with the male populations of Helsinki and Oslo
Volume 10 - Article 1
The problematic estimation of "imitation effects" in multilevel models
Volume 9 - Article 2
The impact of individual and aggregate unemployment on fertility in Norway
Volume 6 - Article 10
Is the Previously Reported Increase in Second- and Higher-order Birth Rates in Norway and Sweden from the mid-1970s Real or a Result of Inadequate Estimation Methods?
Volume 6 - Article 9
The High Fertility of College Educated Women in Norway: An Artefact of the Separate Modelling of Each Parity Transition
Volume 5 - Article 6
A search for aggregate-level effects of education on fertility, using data from Zimbabwe
Volume 3 - Article 3
An Illustration of the Problems Caused by Incomplete Education Histories in Fertility Analyses
Special Collection 3 - Article 6
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
Trends in Indigenous fertility in Canada, 2001–2021
Volume 53 - Article 6
| Keywords:
Canada,
fertility decline,
indigenous,
low fertility
Cash transfers and fertility: Evidence from Poland’s Family 500+ Policy
Volume 51 - Article 28
| Keywords:
cash transfer,
family demography,
low fertility,
Poland,
public policy
Lowest low fertility in Spain: Insights from the 2018 Spanish Fertility Survey
Volume 51 - Article 19
| Keywords:
fertility desires,
low fertility,
Spain
Impact of family policies and economic situation on low fertility in Tehran, Iran: A multi-agent-based modeling
Volume 51 - Article 5
| Keywords:
economic conditions,
family policy,
Iran,
low fertility,
multi-agent-based modeling
Near-universal marriage, early childbearing, and low fertility: India’s alternative fertility transition
Volume 48 - Article 34
| Keywords:
age at birth,
fertility transition,
India,
low fertility,
sterilisation
Cited References: 123
Download to Citation Manager
PubMed
Google Scholar