Women not working at this point would decrease the birth rate, because the reason people aren't having kids is they feel like they can't afford them, and halvin

Women not working at this point would decrease the birth rate, because the reason people aren't having kids is they feel like they can't afford them, and halving their revenue isn't going to make them afford them more. (In locales where daycare is already very subsidized, which is most of the world.) Of course most of those people can afford kids in the absolute sense, either through paying the subsidized daycare or somebody staying home for what is essentially only a few years, but they don't want to because then they have to live in 1000sqft, own a single car, and cook their own dinner. Which is a lifestyle most people today don't want -- especially not young urban men, if they're making any money at all. People were raised by their grandparents when I was young. Maybe the problem isn't within the nuclear family but with the idea that it's desirable to move in a different city to your parents, or even that it's an imposition to live with your parents while your children are young.