The World Has a Sex Problem. It's Hurting Growth

When it comes to identifying the causes of the two major economic problems currently facing the developed world -- rising inequality and a slowdown in economic growth -- sex is rarely mentioned. However, as far as Thomas Malthus, the original economic doomster, was concerned, the “passion between the sexes” was central to economic malaise.

If Malthus were alive today, he would no doubt argue that the Western economy is paying the price of excessive population growth in the world’s poorest economies. An increase in global labor supply exerts downward pressure on the wages of Western working classes, those with whom the world’s poorest compete for jobs, raising inequality and encouraging businesses to pursue cheap labor. The result is a reduced incentive to invest and slower global growth.