Do people in America with one or two children really not have more because they think this is maximizing the expected number of grandchildren? This doesn't seem realistic to me. I think in American even the working poor commonly have children (often more than the wealthy).
It was meant to. My intent was to stimulate thought, not to conclusively prove. There’s great disagreement among researchers studying fertility, income, life expectancy, and such. These are merely my conclusions, which differ from those of many others.
> Do people in America with one or two children really not have more because they think this is maximizing the expected number of grandchildren?
Yes, but my argument is that this is more instinctive than it is conscious thought. For example, women are increasingly having their first child after 30 because they know it is possible to do so successfully and it gives them more time to establish a career and find the best mate. This increases expected resources available per child and expected genetic fitness. In essence, they are instinctively trying to maximize their probability of having children that successfully reproduce, but it tends to lead to fewer children than optimal because our instinct is poorly calibrated to today’s environment.
> I think in American even the working poor commonly have children (often more than the wealthy).
Correct. They also have shorter life expectancy than the wealthy.
Do people in America with one or two children really not have more because they think this is maximizing the expected number of grandchildren? This doesn't seem realistic to me. I think in American even the working poor commonly have children (often more than the wealthy).