Egypt’s Social Solidarity Minister suggests imposing penalties for having too many kids. That would be a huge mistake.

The notion of a China-style “one child” policy for Egypt could be a catastrophic mistake economically, even if you set aside the risk of immediate social backlash. Okay, we’re being a bit hyperbolic with the “one child” line, but Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali’s recent suggestion that the legislative action needs to be taken to curb population growth needs to be carefully studied before the chattering class blithely nods its head and makes approving murmurs. Why? Far from us worrying about “The Robots” taking our jobs, there’s a concern among demographers and some economists that aging populations and low population growth will mean (a) there aren’t enough caretakers for a massive emerging cohort of senior citizens that’s about to swamp the globe and (b) that there won’t be enough consumers around to buy all the [redacted] The Robots will make. Think we’re taking it too far? Go these two very accessible pieces in the East Asia Forum and on the WEF website. The bottom line: Large, young populations need to be managed, but they’re huge assets.