If you rely on sociologists to understand why people are having fewer children, you’re apt to hear that this is a happy story: In wealthy societies, parents are choosing “quality over quantity.”

“With fewer children to support, parents and society can both invest more in each child, helping them to climb the ladder and become productive citizens in their adult years,” Brookings Institution scholar Isabel Sawhill writes.

Recommended Stories

Runaway problems: Institutions and policies aren’t giving at-risk children the care they need

Day care fever costs taxpayers millions

Forget universal daycare. Just give new parents cash