People Are Having Fewer Kids. Their Choice Is Transforming the Economy

Posted2 months agoActive2 months ago

paulpauper

21 points

19 comments

npr.orgOtherstory

calmmixed

Debate

40/100

DemographicsEconomicsPopulation Decline

Key topics

Demographics

Economics

Population Decline

The declining birth rate is transforming the economy, with far-reaching implications for capitalism and societal structures, sparking discussions on the potential consequences and adaptations required.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Moderate engagement

First comment

Peak period

2-4h

Avg / period

2.4

Comment distribution19 data points

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Based on 19 loaded comments

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01Story posted
Oct 29, 2025 at 12:17 AM EDT
2 months ago
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Oct 29, 2025 at 1:25 AM EDT
1h after posting
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7 comments in 2-4h
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Oct 30, 2025 at 6:50 AM EDT
2 months ago
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Discussion (19 comments)

Showing 19 comments

PeaceTed

2 months ago

2 replies

This has been a growing trend for decades now. For many western nations the response has been to import more people primarily from the Asian continent. And while this has worked to keep the numbers high, it hasn't addressed the fundamental issues driving this.

I do wonder that as other countries such India and the African nations start to face the same situation, will they end up limiting the amount of emigration? And if so how will that impact countries that have relied on this to prop up their economies.

For instance here in Australia, we dipped below replacement fertility rate in 1975 but immigration has increasingly filled that gap. It has made the country wonderfully multicultural but it can also be seen as a band-aid solution. If the fire hose of people from overseas slows down, regardless of internal or external reasons, the economy goes with it. This is similar for large parts of the world.

Interesting times ahead.

petre

2 months ago

1 reply

Don't worry. Sillicon Valley will fix it with AI. /s

We'll just have to give up perpetual growth and do more with less. The world population was always smaller than what it is now. What will happen is people from other, more crowded places, are going to move in and no amount of deportations is going to stop that.

https://youtu.be/APo2p4-WXsc

PeaceTed

2 months ago

I do think we will end up in a de-growth position but I fear what that will mean on a humanitarian level. Not so much a de-growth with social purpose (no not eco-fascism stuff!), but a post-growth with panic.

slaw

2 months ago

4 replies

Is debunked conspiracy theory, not debunked and not conspiracy anymore since replacement is a fact now?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Replacement_conspiracy_t...

imtringued

2 months ago

1 reply

Great replacement implicitly assumes that people who don't have children are part of the conspiracy.

You could now counter and say that these people are following the incentives of the system to not have children so they do not have to be aware of the conspiracy, but how is that exclusive to a specific race? The grandchildren of immigrants will be replaced as well.

slaw

2 months ago

I see. There are two parts.

One is a fact, white people are replaced by mostly Muslims and second is a theory 'with the complicity or cooperation of "replacist" elites'

nitwit005

2 months ago

1 reply

The conspiracy theory part is that it's the Jews, vaguely defined globalists, or some other group they don't like trying to exterminate white people for some unstated reason.

They don't blame groups like business owners openly calling for cheap labor to be brought in.

slaw

2 months ago

Thank you for explanation, it really looks like business owners are doing white people replacement not some Jews.

constantcrying

2 months ago

On German TV this continually alternates between official state policy and debunked conspiracy.

fleroviumna

2 months ago

Yep

metalman

2 months ago

1 reply

.the economy is having fewer possitive effects on people.Having children is a choice that is not availible to them.

Libidinalecon

2 months ago

1 reply

We are having less children because we are wealthy. Otherwise, you are making the argument that the birthrate in Africa is because of economic opportunity when in fact it is the lack of economic opportunity that causes higher birthrates. As intentionally child free, I even see this in myself. I am child free because I can think of all the opportunity I have that I don't want to give up. While if I had no opportunity, I would want to have a child who I could raise to do better economically than myself because I don't see any opportunity in my own lifetime.

metalman

2 months ago

rural Candian, who has traveled the world here: and you clearly are not talking to the vast majority of Can/US/Mex ,working class people who are stuck in technologicaly enabled doom loops of exploitive financial circumstance that limits there ability to finance basic self care, let alone anything exceptional like a house and kids, which they want, but are fed naratives designed to increase self doubt, and compensate with unessesary pointless expensive consumption

theoreticalmal

2 months ago

1 reply

This seems like a really really bad path to head down. I believe anyone can achieve their dreams through hard work and perseverance. However, reality shows us that kids with highly-educated / affluent parents are more likely to end up highly-educated and affluent. It seems in most “western” countries, the people that are having lots of kids are not the highly-educated and affluent. Seems like another form of brain drain happening on a generational time scale

gsinclair

2 months ago

Yes, and it is society’s responsibility to, not individuals’ responsibility, to address it.

mock-possum

2 months ago

Seems only fair, considering the economy transformed by choice to have fewer (no) kids.

It’s not the only consideration, but at the same time, if I was independently wealthy… my partner and I would probably have a kid.

moktonar

2 months ago

Contrary to asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction permits population shrinkage. That is because we evolved with the need to be able to shrink the population when necessary. We are too many and population is going to shrink naturally on its own no matter what. If your income depends on the number of consumers, then I can see why you don’t want population to shrink.

trolleski

2 months ago

Framing it as a choice is pretty rich.

perilunar

2 months ago

TFA frames it as an economic problem, but it’s much worse than that: it’s slow cultural suicide.

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ID: 45742566Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 12:59:45 PM

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