After the Spike: The Path to Global Depopulation and the Case for People

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A rallying call to prevent impending global depopulation from two world-leading population economists An eye-opening exploration of humanity's unprecedented path to global depopulation and why it is in everyone's interests to prevent it If we continue as we are, with birth rates falling globally, the world's human population will soon peak and then begin a sudden and rapid decline. Within our grandchildren's lifetimes, older people may vastly outnumber younger ones. A generation beyond that, we could return to population levels equivalent to the Stone Age. It would be easy to think that fewer people would be better - better for the planet, better for the people who remain. In After the Spike, two of the world's leading population economists ask you to think again. Carefully weighing the evidence and the many claims that surround this controversial subject, they explain why depopulation is not the solution we urgently need for climate crisis, nor will it improve lives. Far more likely is that the enormous progress which has raised living standards so dramatically over the last two centuries will come to a halt, and our species' survival will become increasingly fragile and uncertain. At the same time, their insights reveal the many benefits that will derive from stabilising population at a larger level, showing the fight against depopulation to be a cause for social equity. Crucially, they explain why success can - and must - be achieved with women's reproductive rights and individual choice as the driving force behind it. Deeply reasoned and uncompromisingly humane, After the Spike sheds important light on an unprecedented shift in the human story and issues a rallying call to action to ensure a thriving future for generations to come.

Author Bio

Dean Spears (Author) Dean Spears and Mike Geruso are professors in economics at the University of Texas at Austin and governing members of its Population Research Center. Dean is the founder and director of the university's Population Wellbeing Initiative and the founder and leader of RICE, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization working on children's health in rural India. Mike was a Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisors in the Biden White House. Both earned their PhD at Princeton. Their collective body of research has been cited over 7,000 times and their work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Economist and National Geographic. Mike Geruso (Author) Dean Spears and Mike Geruso are professors in economics at the University of Texas at Austin and governing members of its Population Research Center. Dean is the founder and director of the university's Population Wellbeing Initiative and the founder and leader of RICE, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization working on children's health in rural India. Mike was a Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisors in the Biden White House. Both earned their PhD at Princeton. Their collective body of research has been cited over 7,000 times and their work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Economist and National Geographic.