What if we stopped talking about falling birth rates, and started talking about the fertility gap instead? Fertility rates are not always the result of free choice. Even in the most advanced, liberal countries, we're still far from a full reproductive agency. And demographic anxiety blurs our focus from the true crisis – meeting people’s family aspirations. We should, instead, start taking into account the many barriers that prevent people from starting a family.

The falling birth rate is a huge issue of our time. What's the most effective way to tackle it? The Economist's answer in a Toolkit

“Where else on earth is the birth rate rising? Nowhere. Only in Gilead!” says Commander Waterford in the tv series The Handmaid’s Tale.