Birth Rates

This is a long and fascinating article about differing fertility rates around the world - focusing mainly on Europe. It quotes from a number of studies on various causes; here is a quote from (close to) the conclusion of the article:

"So there would seem to be two models for achieving higher fertility: the neosocialist Scandinavian system and the laissez-faire American one. Aassve put it to me this way: “You might say that in order to promote fertility, your society needs to be generous or flexible. The U.S. isn’t very generous, but it is flexible. Italy is not generous in terms of social services and it’s not flexible. There is also a social stigma in countries like Italy, where it is seen as less socially accepted for women with children to work. In the U.S., that is very accepted.”"

In the end, an unexpected and interesting hypothesis: having a society where women are encouraged and expected to work outside the home (in one way or the other) actually increases the birth rate. Hmm.

Link from Instapundit, naturally.