Study: Recession can lead to fewer births

Associated Press

NEW YORK

When the economy tanks, women have fewer babies. But what happens in the following years, when conditions improve?

A massive new study suggests that for some U.S. women, living through a recession can mean they will never have children.

In fact, the authors project that among women who were in their early 20s in 2008 — early in the so-called “Great Recession” — about 151,000 will forgo having any children as a result, at least by age 40.

Overall, the lingering impact of that recession may ultimately mean some 427,000 fewer children being born over the course of a couple of decades, the authors say.

On a societal level, these effects are small. The projected number of childless women is a tiny fraction of the 9 million women in that age group, 20-24. The drop-off in births isn’t much for a nation that produces around 4 million babies a year.