How keeping up with the Joneses in parenting is crimping fertility
A new study urges policymakers to consider taxing private education or scaling back favourable treatment
IN THE debate about tumbling fertility levels, the high cost of raising children, delaying marriage, access to birth control, and the career aspirations of women are usually subjected to scrutiny. Even bulky and expensive car seats have been likened to a form of contraception.
But what about envy? The issue may not be so much the expense of rearing kids and giving them the best start in life, but perceptions of how you perform in that role relative to others.
The competition can be particularly intense. The price of keeping up with the Joneses – especially in the area of educating children – can be added to the causes of a likely decline in Earth’s headcount this century.
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