The Causes and Consequences of Declining US Fertility

The birth rate in the United States has been falling almost continuously since 2007. COVID led to a larger than expected drop in 2020 and somewhat of a rebound in 2021 (Kearney and Levine, 2022), but this COVID effect is just a small blip on an otherwise steady downward trend. Births are down by 18 percent since 2007. The US total fertility rate is now considerably below replacement level, which implies falling population growth. A similar decline occurred in other high-income countries several decades ago.
This raises many important questions. This project will bring together scholars working on these issues, encourage work and collaboration on these topics, and advance our collective understanding of the demographic challenge facing the US.