More Pressure, Fewer Children: How Competition Between Parents Is Lowering the Birth Rate
A new study by Professor Michèle Tertilt from the University of Mannheim and her colleagues Professor Minchul Yum and Dr. Lukas Mahler shows: Parents would often like to have more children—but choose not to because they feel they cannot keep up with other parents and their investments in education, tutoring, and childcare. The comparison between families thus contributes significantly to the worldwide decline in birth rates.
The study published in the journal Brookings Papers on Economic Activity analyzes why in many countries fewer children are being born, even though families would, in principle, like to have children. The economists explain that not only financial burdens or a lack of childcare facilities play a role in this but above all social pressure to make exceptionally high investments for each individual child—for example in education, extracurricular activities, or private tutoring.
According to the study, one reason for the increase in pressure is the growing role of social media—especially that of “momfluencers.” The latter present idealized images of modern motherhood on platforms such as Instagram or TikTok: creative early education, home-cooked organic food, and perfectly designed nurseries.