- Economics
- US Labor Market
- Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
- Understanding the Effects of Technology on Economics and Governance
Steven Davis speaks to Catherine Pakaluk, author of an audacious book on highly educated American women who choose to have many children. How do these women explain and understand their choices to have large families? What do their stories say about the broader forces that influence fertility decisions? What are the lessons for families and communities?
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Catherine Pakaluk is Director of Political Economy and Associate Professor of Political Economic Thought in the Busch School of Business at Catholic University. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. She is the author of Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth, 2024.
- Check out Catherine Pakaluk's website
- Follow Catherine Pakaluk on X: @CRPakaluk
Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.
RELATED SOURCES
- Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth by Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, 2024.
- An Economic Analysis of Fertility, Gary Becker, in Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, 1960.
- Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage, Kathryn Edin and Maria Kafalas, 2011.
- On the Interaction between the Quantity and Quality of Children, Gary Becker and H. Gregg Lewis, Journal of Political Economy, 1973.
- The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women’s Career and Marriage Decisions, Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz, Journal of Political Economy, 2002.
- Work from Home and Fertility, Asksoy, Barrero, Bloom, Cranney, Davis, Dolls and Zarate, working paper, August 2025. Slides.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Each episode of Economics, Applied, a video podcast series, features senior fellow Steven Davis in conversation with leaders and researchers about economic developments and their ramifications. The goal is to bring evidence and economic reasoning to the table, drawing lessons for individuals, organizations, and society. The podcast also aims to showcase the value of individual initiative, markets, the rule of law, and sound policy in fostering prosperity and security.
For more information, visit hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied.
