June 16, 2023
Marriage Is Still the Best Way to Bond a Father to His Children
Editor’s Note: The following essay is an edited transcript of AEI senior fellow Ian Rowe’s opening remarks at “A Debate on Fatherhood,” hosted by the National Marriage Project at UVA and the American Enterprise Institute on April 25, 2023. The event, which was moderated by IFS senior fellow Brad Wilcox, featured a discussion between Richard Reeves and Ian Rowe on the question:…
June 11, 2023
Now Political Polarization Comes for Marriage Prospects
Marriage rates in America are falling fast: Many men and women are marrying later, and more and more people are never marrying at all. Marriage is in retreat for a host of reasons, but one overlooked cause is the rising difficulty many young people have finding a partner who meets all of their requirements—emotional, physical, financial, and political. That last…
June 2, 2023
America’s Baby Bust Is Back on Track
America’s birthrate has been falling steadily since the Great Recession 15 years ago, and the brief uptick of 2021 proved to be a statistical blip, as new birth data show a small drop in births in 2022. Speculation of a COVID baby boom hasn’t panned out. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and…
May 26, 2023
The Power of the Success Sequence
Introduction The “Success Sequence,” a formula to help young adults succeed in America, has been discussed widely in recent years, including by Brookings Institution scholars Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill. The formula involves three steps: get at least a high school education, work full time, and marry before having children. Among Millennials who followed this…
May 25, 2023
Education Freedom and Work Opportunities as Catalysts for Increasing the Birth Rate Among Married Couples
Summary Pursuing new, commonsense approaches to education reform and work–family policies, from childcare and early education through higher education and workforce flexibility, will foster the conditions for family flourishing and increase birth rates for married couples. Affordable childcare from a variety of providers, including at-home options, access to high-quality K–12 education that reflects a family’s…
May 24, 2023
Don’t Be So Shocked That People Still Want Marriage and Children
Four writers at Curbed, the millennial-run, New York-centric real estate site, undertook an ambitious project. To put a price tag on living in New York, they asked young people to describe their ideal life and then tried to calculate how much it would cost. “We decided to put a price tag on the dream lives of a wide…
April 25, 2023
A Debate on Fatherhood
Richard Reeves and Ian Rowe debate the question, “Does strengthening fatherhood depend upon renewing marriage in America?” In his recent book, Of Boys and Men, Brookings Senior Fellow Richard Reeves argues that the institution of fatherhood must be revitalized in order to promote successful outcomes for boys and men, even if it means separating the…
April 17, 2023
Data Tools 6: The Geography of Traditional Families in America
The sixth in a series from Charles Murray. “Every generation, civilization is invaded by barbarians—we call them ‘children.’” These words, often attributed to Hannah Arendt, express a truth that societies have known since societies began: Children must be socialized. Two other truths that societies have instinctively known for millennia are that the birth parents must…
February 27, 2023
China’s Revolution in Family Structure: A Huge Demographic Blind Spot with Surprises Ahead
Read the PDF.
February 2, 2023
Prioritizing Money Over Marriage, Today’s Parents Are Making a Big Mistake
As parents of teens, we have kids who are beginning to think about their adult future—including college, career and family. One recent conversation Alysse had with her 17-year-old daughter is indicative of the pressure many young people feel to prioritize career and income. “Why do I have to choose a career path right now?” her daughter…