Don’t Freak Out About American Fertility
Some say the government should enact policies to encourage women to have more children. But that’s a solution to a problem we don’t know exists.
For decades, women in the United States have been having fewer children. And for decades, that fact has been a source of constant consternation for many economists, demographers, and politicians.
Most recently, a report released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the sheer number of births in the U.S. in 2018 was the lowest in more than 30 years, and also noted a record low in the general fertility rate (59 births per 1,000 women).
Observers across the political spectrum have responded to the latest numbers with alarm. Demographers have expressed surprise that the rate has not ticked up as the economy has recovered. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board lamented the “profound cultural shifts” driving the trend, laying most of the blame on “the welfare state” and lax government policies around health care and student debt.
In response to these demographic trends, some have begun to suggest that the federal government should start taking some additional legislative steps — such as incentivizing fertility through the tax…
