What about lifting child car sit requirement or other regulations making multi-child families lives harder then they should be?
We investigate how fertility relates to work from home (WFH) in the post-pandemic
era, drawing on original data from our Global Survey of Working Arrangements and
U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes. Realized fertility from 2023 to
early 2025 and future planned fertility are higher among adults who WFH at least
one day a week and, for couples, higher yet when both partners do so. Estimated
lifetime fertility is greater by 0.32 children per woman when both partners WFH one or
more days per week as compared to the case where neither does. The implications for
national fertility rates differ across countries due mainly to large differences in WFH
rates. In a complementary analysis using other U.S. data, one-year fertility rates in
the 2023-2025 period rise with WFH opportunities in one’s own occupation and, for
couples, in the partner’s occupation.