Agnès Verdier-Molinié: "How to Boost Birth Rates Without Discouraging Work?"

A new report from the liberal think tank iFrap, titled "How to Raise the Birth Rate in France?", reveals a significant disconnect between the strong desire for children among French citizens and the reality of a declining demographic.

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The average fertility rate in OECD countries has fallen from 3.3 children per woman in 1960 to only 1.5 in 2022. In France, we have gone from 2.7 children per woman in the 1960s to 1.6 today. A drop of more than 40%.

Agnès Verdier-Molinié, the director of iFrap, points out that the average fertility rate in OECD countries has fallen from 3.3 children per woman in 1960 to 1.5 in 2022. France has seen a similar decline, dropping from 2.7 children per woman in the 1960s to 1.6 today, a decrease of over 40%.

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What is most striking is that this decline in fertility affects all countries, regardless of their family policy.

Verdier-Molinié explains that this fertility decline is a global phenomenon, affecting all countries regardless of their family policies. She attributes this trend partly to the increasing average age of first-time mothers and longer periods of study, which mechanically shorten the window for childbearing. The report also suggests that middle-class women are particularly disadvantaged by the current system of redistribution.

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Developed countries are seeing an increase in the average duration of studies and the average age of first motherhood, which mechanically reduce the fertility window.