Jim Penman backs research into drug to address Australia’s falling birth rate
Jim Penman, founder of Jim’s Mowing, is funding research into a drug he calls an “anti-cocaine”, which he hopes could make family life more appealing and help address Australia’s falling birth rate. He argues that dopamine surges from activities such as gambling, pornography, alcohol and social media make children and family relationships less stimulating.
The research group Epigenes is working with La Trobe University to explore the idea. Australia’s 2024 fertility rate was 1.48 births per woman, its lowest recorded level and well below the replacement rate of 2.1; the rate briefly rose to 1.69 in 2021 before falling. Demographer Liz Allen rejects dopamine as a single explanation, pointing instead to factors including living costs, housing affordability and global instability.
- Jim Penman is funding research into a proposed “anti-cocaine” drug.
- He links Australia’s falling birth rate to dopamine surges.
- A demographer points to broader economic and social pressures.
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Australia's birth rate has fallen to its lowest recorded level. In 2024, the fertility rate stood at 1.48 births per woman, well below the 2.1 level required to maintain population without migration. This decline has prompted various responses from those concerned about its implications.
Jim Penman, founder of Jim's Mowing, is backing research into a potential drug aimed at addressing the issue. Working with research group Epigenes and La Trobe University, Penman theorises that dopamine surges triggered by activities like social media, gambling and pornography make family life seem less rewarding by comparison. He believes a drug that reduces these dopamine effects could make children and family relationships more appealing to potential parents.
Other researchers offer different explanations for the falling birth rate. Demographer Liz Allen points to factors such as housing costs, living expenses and global instability as more significant drivers of lower fertility. The debate reflects broader disagreement about what is causing Australians to have fewer children.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The dopamine hypothesis warrants investigation because if modern stimuli create unusually intense reward responses, they could genuinely make the sustained, less immediately gratifying work of child-rearing seem less appealing by comparison. Even if economic factors matter, reducing this behavioural disincentive could help people who desire children but find family life insufficiently rewarding, and exploring novel biological mechanisms complements rather than replaces addressing structural issues.
The case against
Australia's falling birth rate correlates most closely with housing unaffordability, childcare costs and economic insecurity—material realities that make having children financially unviable for many regardless of dopamine levels. Attributing fertility decline primarily to psychological factors risks overlooking these structural barriers and mischaracterising rational economic decisions as a behavioural problem requiring chemical intervention.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Jim’s Mowing founder says Australia’s birth rate is dropping because we’re getting too much dopamine – as he reveals his radical plan to fix it”.