[zizee]

In The Expanse, the main reason for complaint from earthers seems to be caused by overpopulation which leads to difficulty in obtaining realestate and the benefits that landownership brings.

If UBI was implemented as in The Expanse (food, shelter, and meds are free), I would expect the population of the earth to plummet. The UBI would allow for more people to pursue learning and educating others. It has been shown that when people feel safe from threat of violence and starvation, and when they are more educated, the desire to breed decreases.

On the flip side, perhaps knowing that you are off the hook for paying for the expense of many children would increase the desire to reproduce?

[TomMarius]

Was it really shown? Is there a single country that did not replace stress of violence and starvation with economic stress? Do we have at least one larger example of what would happen if the general population was rich?

[mschuster91]

> Do we have at least one larger example of what would happen if the general population was rich?

We have birth rate comparison between "first world" and "third world" countries plus migration experience studies (basically, even one generation after migration from a poor to a rich country, there is a massive drop in birth rate, and after something like 3 generations the birth rate is equal to the rest of the country).

Additionally, there is a noticeable drop in birth rates when a whole country gets richer.

[TomMarius]

What country are you talking about? I don't know a single one where the majority does not feel financially stressed with too many children. (usually more than 3, but even 2 is too much for a lot of people, in many countries for the majority, probably including the United States).

[nkingsy]

The simple explanation for these numbers is that rural children are economically useful, while urban children are a burden.