(Photo: Shutterstock)
The economic and public health fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic could result in an impending "baby bust." A new report published by Brookings suggests that the U.S. could see a decline of between 300,000 to 500,000 births if the labor market continues to suffer beyond this year.
Economic factors have impacted birth rates throughout history, say authors Melissa S. Kearney, a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, and Phillip Levine, a professor of economics at Wellesley College.
"In the analytical terms of economic modeling, adults 'choose' the quantity of children that maximizes their lifetime well-being subject to the costs associated with childbearing. Such a framework predicts, all else equal, that a higher level of lifetime income leads people to have more children," reads the report.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Frank Ready
Frank Ready is a reporter on the tech desk at ALM Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
