Voluntary childlessness: A review of the evidence and implications

This paper reviews evidence on the incidence, correlates, and implications of voluntary childlessness in the United States. Overall, the evidence points toward the increasing prevalence of this phenomenon, with some analysts projecting that as much as 30 percent of recent cohorts of American women will remain permanently childless. These high rates are shown to be similar in magnitude to rates of childlessness projected for recent cohorts of women in several European countries with fertility patterns comparable to those of the United States. Explanations for the increasing prevalence of childlessness are also considered. The second half of this paper examines existing evidence on the correlates of voluntary childlessness. In this connection, special attention is paid to education, area of residence, labor force status, income, and geographic mobility. This section also explores the implications of increasing childlessness and selected ways to redistribute the cost of children.