The next demographic jolt.
Photographer: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images
Philippines’ Baby Bust Will One Day Be a Global Labor Problem
Reining in the population is great news for Manila and a challenge for the rest of us. The world needs to prepare now for a time when exports of labor become a trickle.
The next big demographic jolt is coming in a country whose human capital keeps essential portions of the global economy afloat. Its impact will be felt everywhere from London hospital wards and Los Angeles wharves to dinner tables across the Middle East.
While still a relatively young nation, the Philippines is determined to reduce its birthrate, and sees much smaller families as a route to the prosperity enjoyed elsewhere. It wants a place in the pantheon of Asian success stories alongside nations like Singapore and Malaysia. The archipelago of 115 million people has already made meaningful progress, thanks in part to the reduced sway of the Roman Catholic Church and the ensuing easing of restrictions on contraception.