Fertility Decline and Economic Welfare

Žiga Čepar

Fertility Decline and Economic Welfare

Key words: fertility, population ageing, economic welfare, values, life

Abstract
The purpose of this scientific paper is to analyse the topical issue of fertility decline as population ageing factor and to identify economic consequences of that process. The aims of that paper are to present and to place the meaning that fertility movements through time have among factors of population age structure, to present the consequences that population ageing has for economic welfare and above all to test the hypotheses that low fertility negatively impacts economic welfare of some country. The essential finding of the paper is not only that low fertility is one of the crucial factors of population ageing, but that almost only encouraging fertility can mitigate the process of ageing. Since population ageing has many unfavourable consequences for economy, we confirm our hypotheses and conclude that exactly neglecting of the fundamental Christian value of human life can result not only in spiritual, but also in economic and material deterioration of society in a long run. The research field of the paper thus touches also the fifth point of the fourth chapter of the pope’s encyclical Laudato si'.

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