Americans are having fewer children than they want. Government attempts to boost birth rates haven’t done much. But new research points to a surprisingly simple way to help — and it starts at home. (Part one of a two-part series.)
- SOURCES:
- Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University.
- Melissa Kearney, professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame.
- Lyman Stone, director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies.
- RESOURCES:
- “Does Remote Work Increase Fertility?” by Andrew C. Johnston (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2026).
- “Is the iPhone Birth Control? Causal Evidence from AT&T’s 2007–2011 Carrier Monopoly,” by Caitlin K. Meyers and Ezekiel Hooper (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2026).
- “Work from Home and Fertility,” by Steven J. Davis, Cevat Giray Aksoy, Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, Katelyn Cranney, Mathias Dolls, and Pablo Zarate (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2026).
- “Why is Fertility so Low in High Income Countries?” by Melissa Schettini Kearney and Phillip B. Levine (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025).
- “Can Housing Policy Raise Birth Rates? Lessons from Federal Mortgage Programs During the Baby Boom,” by Lisa J. Dettling and Melissa Schettini Kearney (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025).
- EXTRAS:
- “The Facts Are In: Two Parents Are Better Than One,” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
- “The Unintended Consequences of Working from Home,” by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
- “The Fracking Boom, a Baby Boom, and the Retreat From Marriage,” by Freakonomics Radio (2017).
- “Does ‘Early Education’ Come Way Too Late?” by Freakonomics Radio (2015).
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