Falling fertility on the left as key driver of US birth decline
A new study published in Scientific Reports finds that declining fertility rates among politically left-leaning individuals—who tend to have more liberal views on family size and childbearing—are a major driver of the overall birth rate decline in the United States.
Background
This paper argues that falling birth rates among left-leaning Americans are a major—and overlooked—driver of the overall US fertility decline. While political polarization is often discussed in terms of voting, the authors show it also shapes family size: conservatives continue to have more children, while liberals are having fewer, widening a "fertility gap." The study uses survey data to link political ideology to reproductive behavior, challenging the common assumption that economic factors alone explain why Americans are having fewer babies.