Globally women are having half as many children as they had just fifty years ago. Why have
birth rates fallen and how will low fertility affect our shared future? In Decline and
Prosper! demographic expert Vegard Skirbekk offers readers an accessible comprehensive and
evidence-based overview of human reproduction. Readers learn about the evolution of
childbearing across different populations and how fertility is related to (changes in) our
reproductive capacity contraception education religion partnering policies economics
assisted reproduction and catastrophes. Readers will explore the future of family size and its
impact on human welfare women's empowerment and the environment. Skirbekk argues that low
fertility is on the whole a good thing while recognizing the challenges of population aging
and coincidental childlessness. A balanced integrative examination of one of the most
important issues of our time Decline and Prosper! drives home the fact that we must ultimately
adapt to a world with fewer children. The book will be invaluable to anyone who is interested
in the far-reaching effects of global fertility including researchers and students of
demography social statistics medical sociologists family and childhood studies human
geographers sociology of culture social and public policy.
