Figure 4 is stunning. Japan appears to be a positive example here, but how do you view its other factors, such as lower birth rates than the US? Do you think there is a correlation?
I don't have any idea what is going on with the Japanese birthrate. I'd guess many of the same factors are going on there as here in the US: insufficient income -- and confusion, uncertainty, and hesitation to form families of the young. As to the healthcare difference, I do know the Japanese are much more physically active on a daily basis than Americans, and that their diet is generally more conducive to health (except for a proclivity for eating high salt pickles). Sounds like the formal institutional aspects of health care there are also more organized, more cooperative, and are less wildly and damagedly rent-seeking than the American versions. And, maybe contending with difficulty is all long bred into their bones because of the past need to rebuild there because of repeated earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, and war(s).
There is a lot to chew on here. A far healthier lifestyle and yet less drive to procreate, not to mention the energy factors you tied into the mix. This is a study in and of itself.
Regarding the reduced drive to procreate: these days it's a lot like deciding whether or not to start a business when there is a significant chance the business will encounter very severe difficulty and end in failure -- and when much of your peer group (especially the young woman peer group) is not at all shy in expressing its negative opinions about the potential endeavor. Procreational malaise, multiplied by reduced health's lack of optimism and vigor. Like you say, a lot of factors involved here.
Figure 4 is stunning. Japan appears to be a positive example here, but how do you view its other factors, such as lower birth rates than the US? Do you think there is a correlation?
I don't have any idea what is going on with the Japanese birthrate. I'd guess many of the same factors are going on there as here in the US: insufficient income -- and confusion, uncertainty, and hesitation to form families of the young. As to the healthcare difference, I do know the Japanese are much more physically active on a daily basis than Americans, and that their diet is generally more conducive to health (except for a proclivity for eating high salt pickles). Sounds like the formal institutional aspects of health care there are also more organized, more cooperative, and are less wildly and damagedly rent-seeking than the American versions. And, maybe contending with difficulty is all long bred into their bones because of the past need to rebuild there because of repeated earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, and war(s).
There is a lot to chew on here. A far healthier lifestyle and yet less drive to procreate, not to mention the energy factors you tied into the mix. This is a study in and of itself.
Regarding the reduced drive to procreate: these days it's a lot like deciding whether or not to start a business when there is a significant chance the business will encounter very severe difficulty and end in failure -- and when much of your peer group (especially the young woman peer group) is not at all shy in expressing its negative opinions about the potential endeavor. Procreational malaise, multiplied by reduced health's lack of optimism and vigor. Like you say, a lot of factors involved here.