New Economic Reality: Demographic Winter

Families are important.  And having children is important.  For economic reasons, in addition to Gospel-centered reasons.

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Study the declining fertility rate in many areas of the world, learn how it may affect the world economy in the present and future, and examine how governments are taking steps to stabilize it.

Part I:

Part II:

Roman Catholic Mary Eberstadt shares the role of faith and family in the worldwide trends we see.   Sadly, collapse in faith and family precedes this demographic winter.

The Family and the Protection of Children

Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox, (Ph.D from Princeton University, research fellowships at Yale University and the Brookings Institution) presents new international research from the World Family Map 2014 showing how family characteristics may affect child development and well-being including health outcomes and child mortality rates.

Recent trends:  retreat from marriage, parenting, and fertility

All these data were controlled for parents’ age, education, income, and background:

  • 1/2 of the worlds’ countries are below replacement
  • more kids are born without 2 parents and outside of marriage (parents much more likely to break up before 15 years old)

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  • males in 1-parent homes:  much more commonly incarcerated
  • females in 1-parent homes:  much more teenage pregnancy
  • kids in poverty with 2 parents: much better economic success than kids in poverty with 1 parent

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  • drug use, suicide rates, and repeating grades in school were much higher with 1 parent
  • literacy, health indicators, and mortaily are all lower in homes with 1 parent

2 parents:  more time, $, more affection, kinship support, and stable family context