The New York Times | Melissa Kearney & Phillip Levine
“Some women and couples will have fewer children than they hoped, and some kids will grow up without the younger sibling they would have had otherwise. This could contribute to what some have referred to as America’s loneliness epidemic.”
In a report for the Brookings Institute last summer, as well as a December update, Dr. Kearney and Dr. Levine predicted the COVID-19 pandemic would result in a significant decline in births in the United States. This decline is the result of increased costs for raising a child, disruptions in pregnancy plans due to public health restrictions, and other factors.
