In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman interviews Dr. Clara Piano, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Mississippi, about her new IEA report “Mind the Fertility Gap: Why People Stopped Having Babies and How Economic Freedom Can Help”. The discussion explores the concept of the fertility gap, where women across developed nations consistently have fewer children than they say they want, with UK fertility now at a record low of 1.4 children per woman compared to desired rates of around two.
Dr. Piano examines the barriers preventing people from achieving their fertility goals, including rigid labour markets, housing constraints, and the costs of childcare. She presents evidence showing that supply-side economic policies like labour market flexibility, occupational licensing reform, and easier planning regulations can help close the fertility gap. The conversation challenges the assumption that declining birth rates simply reflect changing preferences, demonstrating through survey data that most people are undershooting their stated family size goals by significant margins.
The interview concludes with discussion of creative policy proposals, including allowing parents to cast proxy votes on behalf of their minor children. Dr. Piano argues this low-cost reform could give families more political voice to address the specific barriers they face in different regions, whether housing affordability, childcare costs, or other obstacles to achieving desired family sizes. The conversation examines how economic freedom and flexible markets can better enable people to pursue their personal fertility goals.
