Book Talk: After the Spike
After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People
A conversation with Michael Geruso and Dean Spears
July 9, 2025 | 9:30 am ET
The Aspen Institute | 2300 N St NW, Washington DC
In-Person & Livestream
Please join the AESG for a conversation on After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People with authors Michael Geruso and Dean Spears. In After the Spike, Geruso and Spears shed new light on what a future of sustained low birth rates would mean. They make a data-focused case that the looming decline in the world’s population threatens technological and social progress, and they examine how we could build a society that avoids such a future. The authors will first break down the evidence behind their argument and will then sit down with AESG Director Melissa S. Kearney for a discussion of their work.
Agenda
9:30 am: Introduction
Luke Pardue, Policy Director, Aspen Economic Strategy Group
9:35 am: Presentation
Michael Geruso, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Austin
Michael Geruso, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Austin
Dean Spears, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Austin
Moderator:
Melissa S. Kearney, Director, Aspen Economic Strategy Group
10:15 am: Q&A
10:30 am: Adjournment
Speakers
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Michael Geruso and Dean Spears
Authors After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People
