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