Michael Geruso on Global Depopulation and ‘the Case for People’

In many corners, a large and growing global population is cause for worry. More people may create greater problems for the environment, for humanity’s food supply, for gender equity, and more. Today, however, societies face the possibility of a different problem: With birth rates in decline, the global population is growing at a slower rate. Sometime this century, many demographers say, the population will peak and begin to shrink. Our guest today has raised concerns about the coming depopulation, making the case that humanity is better off with more people in it.

Michael Geruso is an economist at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People. In this conversation with host Damon Jones, he discusses the consequences of lower birth rates, addresses common environmental and gender-based concerns about a larger global population, and what economists can learn from the 1998 film Armageddon.