The Covid pandemic has had multiple and unexpected effects. One of them is the disparate variation in the U.S. birth rate according to the origin of the mothers.. While, with the closing of the borders, the U.S. birth rate of women born in China plummeted sharply and has not recovered, that of women born in Latin America - after falling, albeit by considerably less, in 2020 - showed an impressive recovery over the past year: by December 2021 it reflected a positive trend of 11% over the 2015-2019 trend, as can be seen in the Latinometrics chart.

According to a detailed study by three U.S. researchers published by the National Bureau of Economic Research National Bureau of Economic Researcha private, non-profit organization, this trend may be related to the economic aid provided by the U.S. government to combat the effects of the pandemic. economic assistance provided by the U.S. government to combat the effects of the pandemic. (there is also a recovery, albeit minor, in the trend in the birth rate of U.S.-born women). A possible message? That, given the right conditions, many women want to be mothers.

The U.S. birth rate of Chinese-born women, by contrast, remains well below the 2015-2019 trend reflecting the closure of Chinese borders for much longer than the rest of the world.