Men and women are “better” separately

We do not go through the branches. The truth is that birth rates are below the replacement level In the US and Europe since the 70s. In these last 30 years, the entire world came behind. Today, analysts like Fernández-Villaverde They are convinced That since 2023, humanity does not reach the replacement rate.

But why?

A fight without barracks. Hundreds of researchers have that question hanging in the cork of their offices. We have seen Many theories and many of them focus on one thing: the emancipation of women and the increase in their autonomy; But Claudia Goldin has an interesting idea.

Goldin argues that, although that is important, the key comes from a mismatch between the wishes of men and women.

A delicate balance. Goldin Notice That as of the 70s, the increases in productivity and social flexibility allowed societies to be more diverse: the social costs associated with the rupture of traditions were lower (often, radically lower) to those of periods of attention.

However, the benefits of breaking those traditions are not the same for everyone. In aggregate terms, Always according to Goldinmen “benefit more from maintaining traditions; women benefit more than avoiding them.” The interesting thing is that they are apparently non -cooperative strategies.

What does this imply? That only to the extent that one does not yield, the other has no reason to do so. That is, “when the probability that men abandon traditions is low, some professional women will not have children and others will delay them, often too much.”

It makes sense: the raising of a child is a very complex task and “tradition” does that work in women. If the father does not accept to assume part of that work, it is very expensive for women, they can assume parenting and professional development. And, given that dilemma, many opt for the second. But why?

Because the problem is another. A previous one, in fact. And having children has a fundamental characteristic: that cannot be reversed. A priori, one can park his professional career at any time, but he cannot ‘park’ the children.

That means that women have to have clear signs that their partners are reliable and the truth is that in a context in which men can opt at any time for a non -cooperative strategy, these signs are something complicated to determine. That is what is behind all this, According to Goldin.

And it is also what complicates its resolution. If it exists. After all, none of the great episodes of birth growth (after 39 in the US, after 1945 in almost all the nations that fought in World War II, after the prohibition of abortion in Romania in 1967, etc …) were intense, surprising and, above all, short.

For Goldinuntil an institutional structure is achieved in which cooperation between men and women is the best option for both, nothing will solve the birth fall.

Image | Ramiro Pianarosa | Genessa Panainte

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