Socrates International Honour Society

Some say: “If birth rate continues to plummet, human civilization will end”. Is this ‘population panic’ justified—and can policy reverse low fertility? Find out more in this lecture by family sociologist Katya Ivanova. (English/SG Certificate*)

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Replacement level

In 2024 The Lancet projected that within 25 years, three out of four countries will have fertility rates below the much-cited “replacement level” of 2.1 children per woman.  

Population panic 

Even if you didn’t know that projection, it’s hard to open a newspaper, turn on the TV, or scroll through social media these days without hearing that something deeply worrying is happening to fertility. The question is whether current anxieties about declining fertility are warranted—and, if so, whether policy interventions can meaningfully reverse this demographic trend.

Lecture by Katya Ivanova

Dr. Katya Ivanova is a family sociologist in the Department of Sociology at Tilburg University. Her research explores how people ‘do’ family in contemporary society - how they form, maintain, and navigate intimate relationships and family life. Much of her current work focuses on (voluntary) childlessness and the transition to parenthood. She is particularly interested in how individuals make decisions about family life, and how these choices both shape and are shaped by broader social norms and structures.

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Let op dit evenement kan voor studenten aan Tilburg University meetellen voor het Studium Generale-certificaat. Meer informatie hierover: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/nl/campus/studium-generale/studenten/certificaat-studium-generale

Ben je enthousiast geworden? Meld je dan nu aan via deze link: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/campus/studium-generale/fewer-babies-panic