After the Spike
Population, Progress, and the Case for People
Dean Spears and Michael Geruso on what happens when population stops growing. Fertility is falling almost everywhere, faster than forecast and resistant to every policy tried against it, and the authors argue that a shrinking world population is neither the environmental relief nor the minor adjustment it is often assumed to be. They make the case for people, and for taking depopulation seriously now.
Recommended by 1 Person
Jason Furman
For most of modern history, population growth was a background constant; now we may be entering an era of sustained population decline. Spears and Geruso use that fact to motivate a careful examination of why fertility is falling so broadly, why it has proven so hard to reverse, and why this matters for economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and social vitality.
Interview · December 2025
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