The public perception and discussion of falling birth rates: the recent debate over low fertility in the popular press

Abstract

Aspects of below-replacement fertility have long been debated among academics. Analyzing 437 popular newspaper and magazine articles from eleven developed countries during 1998-99, this study describes the corresponding public debate about low fertility. Despite the diversity in the national debates of the eleven countries due to different socioeconomic, political and demographic backgrounds, our study finds important commonalties among the public debates about low fertility: First, countries emphasize consequences and potential interventions rather than causes in their public debate over low fertility. Second, our study reveals that the popular press discusses low fertility as a serious concern with mostly negative implications, despite the fact that many of the causes of low fertility are associated with social and economic progress. Third, the variety of issues and perspectives revealed in the public debate, while cohesive in general ways, invites a role for demographers in informing an accurate public discussion of low fertility, which will help form the most appropriate policy outcomes.