Recession Fallout: Fewer Women Having Kids: All the adorable photos now taking over your friends' Facebook pages can't mask the fact that kids are expensive. TIME's Nancy Gibbs recently estimated that it costs parents an average of $221,000 to raise a child to age 17. That large economic investment is one reason that birth rates have historically fluctuated with the economy — the U.S. experienced significant dips during the Great Depression and in the inflationary years of the 1970s. continue reading
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