How will falling fertility rates hurt the economy? With Melissa Kearney

Typically, a society’s population remains stable if women have about 2.1 children each. By that metric, the word has a big problem. In developed countries the total fertility rate is well below that figure. So what are the economic consequences of that shortfall? Soumaya Keynes speaks to Melissa Kearney, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, which recently put out a series on the topic: Demographic Headwinds: The Economic Consequences of Lower Birth Rates and Longer Lives.They discuss why the fertility rate won’t reverse course any time soon — and what happens when the rest of the baby boomers retire.

Further reading:
Why are fertility rates collapsing? Gender roles (ft.com/content/e1a7fd72-9790-498e-a4ef-9380f5d…)
Could working from home solve the global fertility crisis? (ft.com/content/b08425c1-f2ce-488b-a95c-4b92a5e…)

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Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Michela Tindera is the senior producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com (ft.com/content/caed8401-27bf-48d6-92f5-bdd90ca…)
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