What makes a nation strong? How important are a country’s demographics to whether it is powerful or weak on the world stage? How will the United States’ immigration policies impact its demographic, geopolitical and economic future?
Dr. Christopher Murray, Chair and Professor of Health Metrics Sciences and Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, says, “So the relationship between the sort of demography of a nation and its global position, I think, has been one that has been commented on and being at the center of some national policy debates for at least 120, 130 years. […] I think there’s lots of reasons to think that geopolitical status is related to a sort of well balanced, if you will, population that is not declining. Younger people make up innovators in the economy, they invest in capital goods. So that’s thought to be an important driver. They make up people who are in armies. They are also, you know, the people who pay taxes, particularly, you know, in the working age population. […] Fertility in the US has been higher than many other high income countries. But it’s still below replacement. And the reason US population has continued to grow is migration.”
This interview was recorded in 2021.
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