[rayiner]

Folks overlook the obvious explanation for the especially low fertility rates in East Asia: government policy. These are more collectivist societies where people are relatively receptive to government messaging and social norms. For two generations, Korea had anti-natal government policy: https://www.prb.org/resources/did-south-koreas-population-po.... It was a “soft” one-child policy that sought the same results as China’s, though with less draconian means.

Two generations of Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese were raised with the idea that having more than one or two kids is a bad thing, why the surprise that they act accordingly?

[unmole]

Birth rates drop as countries become wealthier. There's no need to reach for culture essentialist nonsense.

[rayiner]

There’s a large and meaningful difference between places based on culture and government policy. Utah’s gross state product per capita is over $75,000. South Korea’s is about $35,000. But Utah has a fertility rate 2.5 times higher. And Utah’s fertility rate is about the same as that of Bangladesh, which is one of the poorest countries. The US fertility rate in 1970 was 2.5, at a time when (adjusted for inflation) it was about as rich per capita as South Korea is today.

Sub-replacement fertility is not some inevitability, where we must choose between having running water and a stable population.