Forgetting to Procreate

Throughout history low fertility and socioeconomic decline have been inextricably linked, creating a vicious cycle that affected once-vibrant civilizations such as as ancient Rome and 17th-century Venice.

Persistently low birthrates and sagging population growth inevitably undermine the growth capacity of an economy. Children provide a large consumer market and push their parents to work harder. By having children, parents also make a commitment to the future for themselves, their communities and their country. _NewGeography

Japan's extended no-growth economy has a lot to do with its low fertility rate. Russia, Italy, and Spain are all sliding down the same slippery slope to demographic oblivion. A number of other European countries are close behind.

...a largely childless society produces other attitudes. It tends to place greater emphasis on leisure activities over work. It also shifts political pressure away from future growth and toward paying pensions for the aging. An aging society is likely to resist risky innovation or infrastructure investments meant to serve future generations. _ NG

The US has a number of demographic dynamics which gives it higher fertility than Europe and Japan.

in the next decade the U.S. will benefit from a millennial baby boomlet, as the children of the original boomers start having offspring. This next surge in population may be delayed if tough economic times continue, but over time it will translate into a growing workforce, sustained consumer spending and will likely spur a rash of new creative inputs.

On the surface, these trends should help America to maintain a growing economy while its main competitors fade. By 2050 Europe's economy could be half that of the U.S. _NG

As the proportion of citizens who are too old to have children grows larger and larger, the abililty of a society to reverse its self-extinction slips away. At that point, only an enormous investment in advanced fertility technologies might save these anti-natalist nations.