The panic over birth rates has a blind spot
Technology doesn’t have to be just a substitute for labour shortages or receding populations.
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Some high-profile academics are offering a refreshingly upbeat perspective on falling birth rates.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Daniel Moss
The resilience of the global economy in the coming decades will hinge on geopolitics, the evolution of supply chains, technology – and demographics. Contrary to some troubling depictions, the slide in birth rates doesn’t mean permanently lower growth. Nor does it have to lead to an inexorable erosion in standards of living or the end of innovation. Some high-profile academics are offering a refreshingly upbeat perspective.
Fertility rates are coming down dramatically in many countries. The retreat is particularly notable in Asia, where the most dynamic economies have tried – and mostly failed – to encourage larger families. Rates have fallen to record lows in Japan and Singapore in recent months. The number of newborns in Taiwan is plummeting, while China’s population experienced its steepest annual drop since a major famine in 1960.
