‘Science Magazine – May 23, 2024: The new issue features ‘Decoding the Brain’ – A cell-by-cell exploration of neuropsychiatry; Does a breakdown in the body’s internal chatter drive aging…
As birth rates plunge, many politicians want to pour money into policies that might lead women to have more babies. Donald Trump has vowed to dish out bonuses if he returns to the White House. In France, where the state already spends 3.5-4% of gdp on family policies each year, Emmanuel Macron wants to “demographically rearm” his country. South Korea is contemplating handouts worth a staggering $70,000 for each baby. Yet all these attempts are likely to fail, because they are built on a misapprehension.
Governments’ concern is understandable. Fertility rates are falling nearly everywhere and the rich world faces a severe shortage of babies. At prevailing birth rates, the average woman in a high-income country today will have just 1.6 children over her lifetime. Every rich country except Israel has a fertility rate beneath the replacement level of 2.1, at which a population is stable without immigration. The decline over the past decade has been faster than demographers expected.
The Globalist (May 23, 2024): The latest from George Parker as the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, sets the date for a general election.
Also in the programme: Nina dos Santos discusses Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Caledonia following violence in the French territory. Plus: business news with Rachel Pupazzoni and we speak to Julie Finch of Hay Festival as the hallowed literary gathering begins.
The moves, while largely symbolic, were welcomed by Palestinians and denounced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called them “a prize for terrorism.”
Nicole Shanahan, a lawyer who was married to Sergey Brin, a Google founder, led a rarefied and sometimes turbulent life in Silicon Valley, according to a Times examination.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious