Does anyone actually have kids because they’re abstractly concerned about globally declining birth rates? (As opposed to actually wanting kids)

Or even because their government offers big financial benefits for having kids as in Scandinavia etc?

I find I just don’t buy that this abstract prosocial concern meaningfully shapes behavior even when translated into “selfish” economic incentives. Kids seem like just too much work to have for any reason besides just wanting them.

I also don’t buy the theory that women sometimes get pregnant to force partners to marry them. Maybe in ultra rare cases.

These alt incentives can at best amplify or enable an existing desire for kids, not create it.

Blogger at ribbonfarm.com, running summerofprotocols.com, host of /gloom ☀️

Birth rates no. 

Financial benefits won’t convince you to have kids, but they will impact the marginal number of kids you have. Plenty of parents friends I’ve talked to have said they would have more kids if they could afford it.