The world has a problem. Fertility rates are falling almost everywhere, which helps to drive one of our pressing policy challenges: worsening care-dependency ratios or, essentially, the number of people in the working age population available to support, one way or another, those outside it. (I say “one way or another” because a working age adult taking time out to look after young children or ageing relatives is making a contribution, just as much as if they paid someone else to do it for them.)
世界有個問題。幾乎所有地方的生育率都在下降,這是造成我們面臨一個緊迫政策挑戰的原因之一。這個挑戰就是:撫養比持續惡化,也就是說,能夠以某種方式支持非勞動年齡人口的勞動年齡人口持續萎縮。(我說“某種方式”,是因為處于勞動年齡的成年人花時間照顧未成年人或年邁親屬,與他們花錢請別人代替他們照顧一樣,都是在做出貢獻。)