Introduction

Birth rates are plummeting around the world and no one has cracked the code on how to get people to have babies. More money, free daycare, and medical advances don’t appear to help…and criminalizing abortion DEFINITELY doesn’t help. This week on How We Got Here, Erin and Max break down how the 20th century baby boom is misremembered, the factors responsible for declining birth rates today, and whether anything can be done about it.

SOURCES: 

Understanding the Baby Boom - Works in Progress

German birth rate drops steeply against backdrop of unease – DW – 03/20/2024

Italy's falling birth rate is a crisis that's only getting worse | Euronews

South Korea’s birth rate is so low, the president wants to create a ministry to tackle it | CNN

Romania's abortion ban was deadly for women and is a warning for U.S. - The Washington Post

El Salvador (CIA)

El Salvador: Court Hears Case on Total Abortion Ban | Human Rights Watch

Alarm as South Korea sees more deaths than births

Work–life balance - Government of Sweden

U.S. Fertility Rate Falls to Record Low - WSJ

A World Without Men: Inside South Korea’s 4B Movement

Everything you need to know about artificial wombs

Can Immigration Solve the Demographic Dilemma? – IMF F&D