Archive: Melissa Schettini Kearney

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Is Low Fertility in High-Income Countries Here to Stay?

Issue Brief by and

March 3, 2026

Across high-income countries, fertility rates have fallen to record lows. In exploring this phenomenon, the key policy questions are: 1) why is this trend occurring? and 2) what, if anything, can be done to reverse it? For example, the finances of pay-as-you-go programs like Social Security are adversely affected by falling fertility, with fewer workers…