Whither the Child?

Birth rates are falling and fertility rates are well below replacement levels. At the same time, the economic crisis has forced governments to scale back public spending, reduce child support, and raise the retirement age, causing immense social conflict. Taking a step outside the disciplinary comfort zone, Whither the Child? asks how demography affects individuals and society. What does it feel like to live in a low fertility world? What are the consequences? Is there even a problem - economically, culturally and morally? No other book confronts so many dimensions of the low fertility issue and none engage with the thorny issues of child psychology, parenting, family, and social policy that are tackled head-on here. Chapter 1 Fertility, Feminism, and Faith, Alícia Adserà; Chapter 2 The Social and Civic Consequences of Parenthood for Adults, David J. Eggebeen; Chapter 3 Do Children Bring Happiness and Purpose in Life?, Hans-Peter Kohler; Chapter 4 Gift or Commodity, Elizabeth Marquardt; Chapter 5 Little Emperors?, Susan E. Short, Hongwei Xu, Ying Liu; Chapter 6 Before, During, and After the Baby Carriage, W. Bradford Wilcox, Jeffrey Dew; Chapter 7 Sacralization by Stealth?, Eric Kaufmann; Chapter 8 Feminism as the New Natalism, Leonard Schoppa; Chapter 9 What Do Women Really Want?, Catherine Hakim; Chapter 10 The Future of Fertility, Wolfgang Lutz, Stuart Basten, Erich Striessnig;