Today
‘Courses in love’: China steps up campaign to promote marriage, babies
Universities have been asked to educate single students on relationships and regular articles appear in state media about the benefits of having children.
- Eleanor Olcott, Nian Liu and Wang Xueqiao
This Month
Ageing Australia to lean on millions more migrants: Treasury
The population is forecast to hit 31 million in a decade, as younger migrants pay for the increasing number of older people in aged care and the health system.
- John Kehoe
November
Putin looks to Stalin for inspiration on women and babies
Several lawmakers and public figures have called for a tax on childlessness – much like the one imposed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
- Robyn Dixon and Natalia Abbakumova
October
The sperm donor bros of big tech
Genetic largesse from some of Silicon Valley’s elite appears to be a mix of narcissism, altruism and dreams of immortality.
- Elaine Moore
July
- Opinion
- Fertility
Me, my niece and a generational shift in thinking about babies
The “happy accidents” that led to so many families having three or more children are a lot less likely to happen now.
- Emma Connors
Rich countries are paying women to procreate. It isn’t working
Despite subsidising each new child by $2 million, France has the lowest birth rate in modern history. Other countries have similar problems.
- The Economist
June
We got it wrong on record migration: Treasury boss
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy said the agency’s “frankly poor” forecasting owed to a failure to anticipate a sharp rise in foreign student numbers.
- Michael Read
May
- Opinion
- Opinion
How the world went from baby boom to baby bust
Helping people have the children they want in ways that fit with their plans should be a focus of policy. It is essential to help women combine careers with children.
- Updated
- Martin Wolf
April
- Opinion
- Carbon challenge
New Malthusians are wrong: a rich world will need less energy
We will need to generate only half the energy we do now to replace today’s electricity use, lift the global South, and feed all those data centres. So rejoice.
- Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Everyone in Japan could have the same surname in 500 years
The Asian nation is the only country in the world that requires spouses to share the same last name.
- Jordyn Haime
- Opinion
- Global economy
Population decline will destroy the West as we know it
By 2100, the number of people worldwide will have peaked. The value of assets will drop and the incomes they generate will fall.
- Dr Stephen Davies
March
Migration record after huge student intake
The country’s annual population growth of 2.5 per cent was the highest rate since 1952, keeping pressure on housing demand and infrastructure.
- Julie Hare and Tom McIlroy
February
- Opinion
- Immigration
Birth rates are falling. Why family-friendly policies are not enough
The stunning fertility collapse in some countries is “not primarily driven by economics or family policies”. It’s more to do with culture and psychology.
- Ross Douthat
January
Neighbourhood mall deal activity to pick up as cap rates rise to 6pc
The gap between buyer and seller expectations for neighbourhood malls has narrowed, providing fertile ground for more deals in 2024.
- Campbell Kwan
- Opinion
- Opinion
Let’s not give away this growth card
Migration once again seems likely to keep Australia out of more serious economic trouble. That makes it all the more important to get housing right.
- The AFR View
December 2023
Labor starts long-term migration planning amid population boom
The inaugural ministerial migration roundtable comes amid growing concern about record numbers of foreign arrivals.
- Michael Read
November 2023
Housing approvals have bottomed and migrants mean growth: JPMorgan
Australia’s housing shortage isn’t just about demand – interest rates must fall to make purchasing affordable for buyers.
- Michael Bleby
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why these stocks could win from the immigration surge
Surging immigration is putting huge strains on housing and infrastructure. But for investors in the local sharemarket, strong population growth could deliver a double benefit.
- Updated
- James Thomson
September 2023
The housing game – who’s in it for the money?
Australia is adopting a new policy of carrots as well as sticks to get states building more homes. But while money helps, the biggest motivator is a changing political environment.
- Michael Bleby
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Growing population to keep a rocket under the ASX
Australia is growing faster than most other developed countries, as measured by people. Shouldn’t that help the sharemarket, too?
- Anthony Macdonald