Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

Melissa S. Kearney, professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame and a leading economist of family and social policy, will discuss the forces behind America’s declining birth rates and changing family structure. Drawing on her book The Two-Parent Privilege, Kearney examines how long-term shifts in marriage, fertility, and economic security are reshaping opportunity for children and the future of the U.S. workforce. As fewer Americans form and sustain two-parent households and as more young adults delay or forgo having children, the consequences reach far beyond individual families and affect inequality, workforce readiness, and the nation’s long-term economic prospects. Kearney’s talk will explore why family structure has become one of the most consequential and often overlooked drivers of America’s economic future.