Caitlin Myers

When we look for the candidates, we should be looking for things that were large chalk.

that started around 2007 and are affecting a lot of people.

Social scientists have been puzzled by the persistent drop in birth rates over the last two decades.

At first, they thought it was a temporary response to the Great Recession.

But even after the economy bounced back, births did not.

So economist Caitlin Myers at Middlebury College went looking for other explanations.

When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, service was initially limited to AT&T.

By comparing birth rates in areas with and without AT&T coverage, Myers found a strong link between smartphone penetration and fewer babies.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.