How will falling fertility rates hurt the economy? With Melissa Kearney
From The Economics Show by Financial Times
May 1, 2026 · 34 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the economic implications of declining fertility rates with expert 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 Could working from home solve the global fertility crisis? Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple , Spotify , Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Soumaya Keynes
Guest: Melissa Kearney
Topics covered
- fertility rates
- economic consequences
- demographics
- population stability
- baby boomers
- gender roles
Keywords
- fertility
- economy
- population
- demographic changes
- birth rates
- baby boomers
- gender roles
- economic strategy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Notre Dame, Aspen Economic Strategy Group, Financial Times, Acast
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