> why in the past fertility was so high? 1. No birth control 2. Harder to find scary stories of parents being unhappy without the internet 3. Much less enter

> why in the past fertility was so high? 1. No birth control 2. Harder to find scary stories of parents being unhappy without the internet 3. Much less entertainment. Sex and kids are substitutes for other forms of entertainment. 4. Kids are a much larger commitment than they used to be. Having 5+ kids is basically unheard of in my area. I agree with the paper, declining birth rates is much more about shifting priorities than any economic factors.