Fascinating stuff, as a non-Georgian who has lived in Georgia continuously for 8 years, it makes a lot of sense to me. I am somewhat religious, and most people I know are moderate to very religious, but being able to afford diapers and doctors visits and a good maternity hospital seems to have a big impact on having kids. Also important, it seems, is having an optimistic view of the future. Whether someone here loves or hates Saakashvili, everyone knows implicitly that 2003 was really the major turning point for the country. It tracks with the prosperity argument for sure.
I agree with the importance of an optimistic view of the future. In fact, I wrote a while ago about a related change in fertility during World War II, which (I believe) was largely motivated by mothers' pessimistic view of the future:
"Germany and Russia on the other hand, showcase how wartime mobilization of large numbers of young men, along with combat occurring within national borders impact fertility: prospective mothers don’t want to birth a future orphan, leading to a sharp decline in the fertility rate."
It was a great read and offered another interesting hypothesis for Georgia's birth boom. Lyman Stone recently posted a new paper on the religious nature of the birth boom. Which may interest you or your readers. Cheers.
Fascinating stuff, as a non-Georgian who has lived in Georgia continuously for 8 years, it makes a lot of sense to me. I am somewhat religious, and most people I know are moderate to very religious, but being able to afford diapers and doctors visits and a good maternity hospital seems to have a big impact on having kids. Also important, it seems, is having an optimistic view of the future. Whether someone here loves or hates Saakashvili, everyone knows implicitly that 2003 was really the major turning point for the country. It tracks with the prosperity argument for sure.
Thanks!
I agree with the importance of an optimistic view of the future. In fact, I wrote a while ago about a related change in fertility during World War II, which (I believe) was largely motivated by mothers' pessimistic view of the future:
"Germany and Russia on the other hand, showcase how wartime mobilization of large numbers of young men, along with combat occurring within national borders impact fertility: prospective mothers don’t want to birth a future orphan, leading to a sharp decline in the fertility rate."
https://www.mangosorbananas.com/p/the-american-baby-boom-and-what-it
It was a great read and offered another interesting hypothesis for Georgia's birth boom. Lyman Stone recently posted a new paper on the religious nature of the birth boom. Which may interest you or your readers. Cheers.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00148-025-01092-5
Thank you. I'll read it as soon as I have the time.