Here’s a fun fact that will probably blow your mind: The average Brazilian, Colombian and Mexican woman will have 1.8, 1.9 and 2.2 children, respectively, over the course of her life. That’s no higher than the average American woman, who has 1.8 children over the course of her life, and — in the case of...Read More

Here’s a little fact that will blow your mind. In Iran, you can get married for an hour and then divorced, no strings attached. It’s the sigheh, or “temporary marriage” (sometimes called the “pleasure marriage.”) In a sigheh arrangement, the duration of the marriage and the dowry are specified in advance, and once the time...Read More

In Economy & Markets last month, Harry Dent had some interesting comments on marriage and family formation in Japan and what it means for the Japanese economy. Here’s an excerpt: It’s one thing to naturally have fewer kids as a country urbanizes and gets more wealthy. It costs more to raise and educate kids in...Read More

Here’s a little something to think about with Valentine’s Day coming up: Chinese couples will be making a lot fewer babies in the years ahead. And this has major implications for China’s future growth. A China baby bust might sound counterintuitive to anyone who follows China, as the government announced in 2013 that it would...Read More

I have a lot of respect for the late Milton Friedman. I really do. His unapologetic defense of the free market was–and still is–a breath of fresh air amidst the constant drone of calls for the government to “do something” to fix all of our problems, real or imagined. But on the subject of inflation–the...Read More