“Childfree”: Rational Choice or Behavioral Myopia?

The article discusses the economic basis of the conscious refusal of the birth and upbringing of children. Both classical and more modern views are analyzed. The authors show that motives to reduce fertility tend to increase. Children are more likely to be considered as a kind of tax for the public good, which is worth avoiding. This is evidenced by a very generous subsidization of children in the welfare states. At the same time, self-satisfaction from children continues to be a sufficiently strong motive that inhibits the growth in the number of childfree. In Russia, the childfree movement has received a certain development. However, there are few convinced adherents of this behavior: for men, it slightly exceeds 2%, for women it exceeds 4%. The marginality of the phenomenon does not mean its general public disapproval: a rather large percentage treat it with understanding. Childfree prevails in megacities, which confirms the economists ’conclusion about the negative dependence of the birth rate on the amount of lost income and career opportunities. The propensity for childfree is also determined in proportion to the number of years of residence in the megacities. In them, the majority of the population believes that a person can be happy without children.