Empty Planet

'A fascinating study' David Goodhart, Sunday Times

'A bold thesis, but the authors are convincing . . . this briskly readable book demands urgent attention' Sarah Ditum, Mail on Sunday

For half a century, statisticians, pundits and politicians have warned that a burgeoning population will soon overwhelm the earth's resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different alarm. Rather than continuing to increase exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline - and in many countries, that decline has already begun.
In Empty Planet, international social researcher Darrell Bricker and award-winning journalist John Ibbitson find that a smaller global population will bring with it many benefits: fewer workers will command higher wages; the environment will improve; the risk of famine will wane; and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women. But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. To limit the effects of that disruption, nations must resist the growing isolationism that is leading some societies to close off just as openness becomes more critical to survival than ever.
Rigorously researched and deeply compelling, Empty Planet offers a vision of a future that we can no longer prevent - but that we can shape, if we choose.

'An ambitious reimagining of our demographic future' Doug Bock Clark, New York Times