Do We Need To Have More Children?

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Economists can't seem to decide if we need more or fewer children? Does overpopulation drain Earth's resources too much or does an ageing population threaten economies? What challenges does either option present and can we solve this paradox?

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[WanderingCoyoteXVII]

I was kinda looking forward to seeing children on the EE leaderboard...

[StonerComedy]

So basically babies get a 7.2 on the economics chart, putting them slightly above old people and well under middle aged people

[chapelknight]

Like he was getting at, one of the biggest hurdles of advancing a nation is the growing need of a highly educated workforce. This postpones parenthood later in life. Add in internships, low entry pay, and loan debts and parenthood is a major hurdle for the needed workers.

[Draxynnic]

I'd put a big question mark over the "more people means more chance of an Einstein" assertion. It does mean that there is more chance of someone being born who has the genetic potential to achieve that, but actually having a chance to realise that potential relies heavily on having the right life circumstances. We've probably lost a LOT of potential Einsteins to poverty, lack of education, or lack of opportunity to use that education (the last is probably less common since once you get into meritocratic academia a potential Einstein is more likely to be recognised, but even then, circumstances might still conspire to deny them that opportunity). You'd probably have a better chance of generating Einsteins by investing more into the people you already have to make sure that the potential Einsteins can realise that potential.

[vb]

I think the growth of population is a double edged sword.

More people is great if everyone is productive.

More people is bad if a large portion of them are not productive (unemployed/uneducated).

I think its best to think about population as a resource with certain quirks at different stages of life. It is also a resource that can be mismanaged and wasted.

[liamtahaney]

The Working class cant afford kids and the system cant afford us not having kids. Amazing system weve inherited

[masterchinese]

Prior to the COVID outbreak, I remember reading an article that said in 2020 it was predicted that the world's population, for the first time in history, would be over 50% "middle class" meaning having extra income after paying for living expenses. Where are we now? What kinds of trends moving forward vis-a-vis poverty levels?
Whether more or less of us, I'm concerned about quality of life rather than quantity.

[itsame]

I think it would be more accurate to think about whether or not an economic system that makes it impossible to have kids is an economic system worth having.

[GabrielCarvalho-gdop]

Problem with GDP is that it only affect the top level.
Companies and few individuals got richer, the other 80-90% got poorer.
I'm not old by any means and I remember I could buy many things with $1 (unit of money. Interpret it to whatever currency you want) and now that same amount gets me basically nothing.
My salary is really good, but I still feel the weight of all that is needed for me to survive every month, whereas if it was 10-15y ago, I would be living a king's life.

I understand we are moving forward and getting lots of advancements, but where is all that money going to? I don't feel we are getting a good return from all that investment.
Progress feel way slower for more money.
Look at computers for example. We went from KiloBytes in the 70's to GigaBytes in the late 2000's and we are still kinda stuck on it now. Of course I'm simplifying it a lot and I understand things get more difficult to innovate.

[forestreee]

Unrelated but I just wanted to say thanks!

I had my Economics exam yesterday and I have to say that if I hadn't been casually watching your videos, it wouldn't have went as well as it did! Your videos gave me an intuitive understanding of basic economics which made studying other stuff a breeze as I could logically understand the concepts. I was able to write much more clear answers, as I didn't understand economics very well before watching your videos. So thank you EE team for making nice videos!

[kingofhearts]

With where I live I probably couldn't buy a house if I saved for 20 years, let alone with kids. At this point I'm content to live my life alone and stay with my parents until they're gone and the house passes to me.

[JeffCrowl]

Good video, overall. And it doesn't factor in inequality in consumption patterns. A family in rural Somalia having another child puts far less strain on global resources than if a Kardashian decided to.

[Ryan-czuo]

My fellow Australians have an aversion to using "fewer" rather than "less" 😅
"fewer children"

[krampus]

Probably in a couple of years on EE: "Can we still afford to eat? - Becoming plants"

[sarahroberts]

I have a problem with more kids, higher population, more geniuses theory. I’ve heard it quite a few times now and it’s never challenged. No one ever mentions that tackling inequality may lead to the same result of producing geniuses. There are so many people in the world who don’t have much chance of ever realising their potential. Due to this, it’s hard to take this argument seriously.

[ommin]

Is there any branch of economics that accounts for the fact that a high-end watch is Expensive, but not Useful? Producing watches inflates your countries GDP but should they really be worth more than a vehicle, which can transport people and goods, when a watch can only tell time?

[samiamgreeneggsandham]

I’m pretty disappointed in the quality of thinking in this EE video. Too much false dichotomising between declining fertility/populations, and high population growth. The latter is a straw man. High income countries’ TFR is well below replacement, and overall middle income TFR is just above replacement but soon to blow straight through 2.1, and likely before any of these countries join the high-income country club. There is zero prospect of even maintaining replacement fertility. Even in high-income countries, national pensions and private retirement savings are not going to support the elderly like in a past when economic expansion was supported by modest population growth. Middle-income countries are in much deeper trouble in this regard.

[elizabethdavis]

Please consider making a playlist of your videos that address population issues!

[PrinceofPwnage]

Absolutely cannot afford kids. I went from being comfortable middle class to about to be homeless. AI will destroy white collar jobs, and automation will destroy blue collar jobs.

Houses are becoming more and more unaffordable, pollution worse and worse, corporations keep merging, more monopolies, geopolitical turmoil, cost of healthcare is ridiculous, cost of childcare is ridiculous.

And if both parents are working, school schedules don't match work schedules, and what if child gets sick, which parent has to risk their job to take care of child?.

Words can't describe how miserable I am and how close I am to loosing it.

[reivelt]

This is a never ending loop. People want to advance in life, whether it is about status, financial, education, etc. The more people advance/level up, the less people are willing to do hard physical labour.

What this has to do with children? A more advanced society demans more from its population to contribute on every aspect including population grow. But, contributing in other aspects make people less inclined to have many children or having a child at all.