Brain Bites: Are We Really Having Fewer Children?
A New Perspective at Falling Birth Rates
- Date
- 4 June 2026
- Time
- 12:30 -13:00
- Location
- University Library
- Room
- The Salon
Birth rates have fallen significantly across the industrialised world in recent decades. Low fertility has attracted growing attention from demographers, economists, and policymakers. In the Netherlands, the total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped from 3.1 in 1960 to 1.4 in 2024, a pattern seen across many developed countries.
In addition to explaining what these figures tell us, Esmée Zwiers will present newly compiled data on fertility by mothers' birth cohort - that is, grouping mothers by the year they were born rather than the year they gave birth. These findings offer a new perspective on recent trends in birth rates and open new questions about what might be driving them.
Programme
12:15: Doors open
12:30: Introduction by Revka Bijl
12:35: Mini lecture by Esmée Zwiers
12:45: Q&A with Esmée & Revka
13:00: End of programme
The programme is free of charge, but we do ask you to register because of catering. The event is in English and lasts 30 minutes.
Speakers
Esmée Zwiers is an economist with research interests in health economics, labor economics, and economic demography. Her latest work focuses on the interaction between fertility, reproductive health, and the labour market. She is an Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam School of Economics at the University of Amsterdam. Before she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing. She received here PhD in Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute. She is also a Research Fellow at IZA and a Research Fellow at the Tinbergen Institute.
Revka Bijl is a member of the communication team of SPUI25. She studied Journalism at the School voor Journalistiek in Utrecht and Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Her Dutch novel Gapen onder water was published by Nieuw Amsterdam in 2019. She is currently working on a new book, as well as working as a presenter and journalist. She also presents a morning show on Red Light Jazz Radio.
