If during his last days American biologist Paul Ehrlich had followed events in Singapore, he would have heard something remarkable. Fertility fell to a record low last year, confounding efforts to shore it up. Politicians described the development as an existential challenge.

Ehrlich, who saw population control as vital to humanity’s viability amid a deteriorating environment, was proven wrong. Not only is humankind doing pretty well, leaders in some of the most successful economies want the opposite of what the Stanford University professor prescribed: more babies. China, South Korea, Japan and many European nations are wrestling with ultra-low birthrates and shrinking labor markets. Combined with the swelling ranks of seniors, these forces promise to reshape workplaces, tax systems, immigration and defense.

© Bloomberg