695. Can the U.S. Close Its Fertility Gap?

About this episode

Americans are having fewer children than they want. Government attempts to boost birth rates haven’t done much. But new research points to a surprisingly simple way to help — and it starts at home. (Part one of a two-part series.) • SOURCES:• Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University. • Melissa Kearney, professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame. • Lyman Stone, director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies. • RESOURCES:• "Does Remote Work Increase Fertility?" by Andrew C. Johnston (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2026). • "Is the iPhone Birth Control? Causal Evidence from AT&T’s 2007–2011 Carrier Monopoly," by Caitlin K. Meyers and Ezekiel Hooper (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2026). • "Work from Home and Fertility," by Steven J. Davis, Cevat Giray Aksoy, Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, Katelyn Cranney, Mathias Dolls, and Pablo Zarate (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2026). • "Why is Fertility so Low in High Income Countries?" by Melissa Schettini Kearney and Phillip B. Levine (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025). • "Can Housing Policy Raise Birth Rates? Lessons from Federal Mortgage P