Fair Field County Business Daily

what will ahppen to women's demand for leisure w/ a decrease in birthrate?

From an economic point of view, what will ahppen to the leisure demand of women given that the birthrate is decreasing? And also, what will happen to the labor supply ?

Public Comments

1. Well low birthrates mean less workforce and a weak economy.
2. Well, it seems the countries with the highest birthrates seem to be the poorest. If women aren't preoccupied with taking care of kids, then they have more time to join the workforce it would seem. I would guess that leisure falls, labor supply increases and consumption increases. Just a guess though.
3. The demand for leisure will expand, and so will supply of labor.
4. In the short-run: Raising children is considered leisure by economists, only paid labor is counted as work by labor economists. Therefore the demand for leisure will decrease and the supply of labor will increase as women spend more time working rather than raising children. In the long-run: A decreasing birthrate will decrease the supply of labor. This will necessitate the importation of labor, i.e. open immigration policies.
5. NC and Hubris are right. All the answers above NC are less accurate (not enough detail). Hubris's answer expands on NC's. Very good answer.