The Value of Children - fertility, personal choices and public needs

Only individuals can bring a child into the world, and family, parenthood and childbearing are pillars of personal lives. But the production of new individuals for the nation also fills a public need. Present concerns over low fertility mirror the value of children to the nation. Although emphasised in rich countries, people all over the world are making the same choice to have fewer children, and populations are ageing. Despite its personal nature, childbearing is amazingly structured. Fertility is fascinating in how it links structural and individual perspectives. In this paper, I shall discuss the value of children at the interface of the personal and the public. The topic of the article is personal choices in conflict with public need.