This is an interesting article from the Economist. They're basically saying that falling populations in rich countries aren't necessarily bad for economic welfare. Makes sense, though I think the article would be a bit more, what's the word - relevant? Maybe 'compelling' is what I want. So - I think the article would be a bit more compelling if it made reference to the fact that an overpopulated planet leads to overconsumption of limited resources, leading us all to a future of unknown horrors.

Or something like that.

Anyway, here's the article. Enjoy the theme music. Goodnight.

The shrinkage of Russia and eastern Europe is familiar, though not perhaps the scale of it: Russia's population is expected to fall by 22% between 2005 and 2050, Ukraine's by a staggering 43%. Now the phenomenon is creeping into the rich world: Japan has started to shrink and others, such as Italy and Germany, will soon follow. Even China's population will be declining by the early 2030s, according to the UN, which projects that by 2050 populations will be lower than they are today in 50 countries.