Sex, Marriage, and Markets: What's Driving the Baby Bust?

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:87289791-0d59-467b-8082-9e30cfe415ff-5" data-testid= "conversation-turn-12" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> In this episode of The Economist Next Door, host Paul Mueller speaks with Jeff Degner and Aidan Grogan about the global fertility crisis and the sharp decline in family formation across advanced economies. Are falling birth rates primarily an affordability problem—or the result of deeper cultural changes? The conversation connects inflation, housing costs, and economic uncertainty with delayed marriage, shifting fertility preferences, and the emergence of dating apps as large-scale matching platforms that alter incentives, selection, and relationship formation. The discussion also introduces the concept of an "inflation culture" and its potential effects on time preference, planning horizons, and family decisions. The episode closes by examining what population decline means for economic growth, social cohesion, and the future of government.