Population growth is a major concern for all economies – as a factor of national production, average income and for the affordability of national pension systems. Some nations in history have deliberately adopted policies to change the national population growth, such as the one-child-policy in China.
Question: What do you think are there regulations in other countries that lead to a lower birth rate?
Answer: Check out that research!
The economists Jordan Nickerson and David H. Solomon present evidence in a recent paper titled “Car Seats as Contraception”, suggesting that U.S. laws tightening regulations on how long small children have to be seated in special car seats in order to safely travel in cars may have inadvertently joined this “club”. The rationale goes like this: most regular cars can only fit two such seats. A third seat, and thus in many cases a third child, would require a larger car, leading to increased costs. These costs disincentivize having a third child for many families. The authors estimate that such laws led to 145,000 fewer births since 1980.
Reference: Nickerson, Jordan and Solomon, David H., Car Seats as Contraception (July 31, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3665046 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3665046
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